Podcast appearances and mentions of mark leblanc

In this episode, Dr. Willie Jolley talks with business development expert and renowned keynote speaker Mark LeBlanc, who shares proven strategies to help you gain momentum, boost your profits, and build long-term success. Whether you're launching a new venture or ready to scale, Mark offers practical insights that can move your business forward– faster and smarter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nic and Tarina open this episode talking about his latest travels and how he shaved his head. “Everybody with a shaved head is really sexy,” Nic quotes Tarina. Of course, she denies it. (Time for a new podcast photo!)Today's discussion centers on a question Nic's mentor Mark LeBlanc asked him a long time ago. The question is: What do you want? As Nic explains, this isn't about wanting a new pair of sneakers. It's about the life we want and how we want to live, not merely material things.This question—What do I want?—is actually the second hardest question. The hardest question you will ever have to answer is: What are I willing to do get what I want?The truth is there's a cost to pursuing what we want—sacrifices, compromises, and reality checks. It's these questions which force you to make decisions and better decisions.Tarina and Nic share some of their personal wants and the hard decisions they each had to make to achieve what was most important to them. They give listeners an peak behind the curtain at the Bittle Ranch.As Nic points out, to do what we have to do to achieve what we want might only need three seconds of courage. The first victory comes in having the courage to figure out what you really want. The second victory comes in pursuing it.If you enjoy Nic and Tarina's podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.---

In the flesh at the Nic Bittle Workplace Pro studio in Corn, Oklahoma, is Mark LeBlanc, Nic's long-time friend, mentor, and business coach.Mark LeBlanc, CSP, CPAE has been on his own virtually his entire adult life. He once had a job for six months and was inspired by the two words, “You're fired!” At the ripe, young age of 21, he vowed he would do whatever it would take to make it on his own. And he has.He recently celebrated his 40th anniversary in business! He has experienced the good, bad, ugly, and great of being his own boss. And in 2023, after 40 years as a professional speaker, Mark was inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame. You can see his acceptance speech here.He and Nic talk about the ups and downs (a lot of downs) of business, life, and leadership. Mark shares how what you do every day matters way more than what you do every once in a while. And he discusses what he learned from the great Judith when he walked the El Camino (a short 400 mile hike in Spain) for the first time.His keynote speech titled Never Be the Same (and book by the same name) is a catalyst for how consistency plays a vital role in achieving in times of challenge and change. While he shares unique insights and ideas on commitment, his reveal on resolve will change the way your people take action for the rest of their lives.If there was one thing to take from this conversation is this: Mark believes in you more than you may believe in yourself.The author and co-author of seven books, Mark resides in Minneapolis, MN.If you enjoy Nic and Tarina's podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people. ---

It's autumn and football season and Tarina is happy with the change of season. This means making sliders for the Crusaders football team.Nic and Tarina continue their discussion on his book, Know This Do That. First up to bat is the need for apprentices to eliminate the phrase, “I know.” Why? It's important to demonstrate humility and coachability. Even if you to do know, listen for Nic's suggestion for how to respond when asked, “Do you know how to do this?”“No one accomplishes anything great alone,” says Nic's mentor, Mark LeBlanc. Tarina shares how a coach kicked her out of high school basketball practice for talking back. This proved a transformational moment in her life, helping her make better choices. Nic's gratitude for the mentors he's had in his life is worth the listen.Great mentors go beyond the hard skills of the trade. Great mentors focus on building on your smart skills, the knowledge and ability to navigate difficult relationships, the right things to say, and showing up on time. If you've got a decade or more experience, then find someone to be a mentor to.If you enjoy Nic and Tarina's podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.---

Avoiding mistakes and adopting the right practices are keys to successfully growing your business. Today Darren and Mark talk with business growth expert and Hall of Fame speaker Mark LeBlanc as he shares four decades worth of wisdom on finding your niche, developing your content, connecting with your audience, and much more.   SNIPPETS: • If you quit 1,000 times, start again 1,001 times   • You must earn the right to speak   • Avoid thinking that you're better than you are   • Raise your hand and get help   • Engage minds, touch hearts, stir souls, and make them laugh                                             • Focus on a singular idea and build your speech around it   • Frame your content   • Build an ‘accordion' presentation   • Create a great defining statement   • Find your sliver of the market

Welcome to She Means Fitness Business, the go-to podcast for female health and fitness professionals looking to supercharge their business growth this year. In this episode, we're diving deep into the 4 Cs, a proven framework to help you take your health coaching business to new heights. Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow and scale your business , these strategies are tailored to help you thrive.  Get ready to transform your health coaching business and achieve your goals! Get ready for a little tough love as you coach yourself answering these questions.  Questions We Answer in This Episode: What are the 4 Cs, and how can they benefit my health coaching business?    – We'll break down the core concepts of the 4 Cs and explain how each one contributes to your business growth.  Commitment – to your own success and reaching the goals you've set Conviction – that you can help and about the way you help and why YOU?  Consistent – in doing the actions you know have to be there? (new content, showing up, emailing your audience, measuring results)  Congruent – the actions you take today congruent with what you say you want? (did you ask anyone today?) Coached? No one does it alone.  How can I effectively attract and convert more clients?    – Discover actionable tips and techniques to expand your client base and boost conversions. What strategies can I implement to enhance client retention and loyalty?    – Learn how to create lasting relationships with your clients and keep them coming back for more. How do I stay competitive in the ever-evolving health coaching industry?    – Explore strategies to stay ahead of the curve and remain a key player in the competitive health coaching market.  Other Episodes You Might Like:  5 Fall Fitness & Health Professional Business Growth Strategies https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/health-professional-business-growth-strategies/ When and How to Ask for Help Growing Your Health Business https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/growing-your-health-business/ Email Marketing for Fitness Business Success https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/email-marketing-fitness-businesses/ Resources:  Free Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/business-scorecard/ – Don't forget to grab our free guide that complements this episode, providing you with additional insights and resources to implement the 4 Cs effectively in your health coaching business. Visit the fitnessmarketingmastery.com website for more expert advice and services related to health coaching business growth.  – Check out our recommended blogs and resources to further deepen your knowledge and skills in business growth and health coaching. Consider the WELLPROS hotseats coaching calls month-to-month subscription to be surrounded by other fit pros who want to grow. No one does this alone.  In this episode, I guide you through the 4 Cs and share their success stories and tips. This content originally I learned from a dear friend and much-admired business coach, Mark LeBlanc. He was so supportive and an excellent role model when I needed it most. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting your journey in health coaching, these strategies are designed to propel your business forward. Tune in and get ready to grow your health coaching business this year like never before! Menopause Fitness Specialist™ Program:  https://www.flippingfifty.com/menopause-fitness-specialist-program-2022/ Marketing to Women Copywriting Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course WELLPROS mentorship group: https://www.flippingfifty.com/store/uncategorized/fit-pros-health-coaches-monthly-membership-founder/

Mark LeBlanc of the Canadian Hydrographic Service on how the Qalipu and Miawpukek First Nations will be mapping coastal areas + Mark Santos leading Marine Institute team to retrieve ghost gear and Hurricane Fiona debris.

Well, I am not even slightly surprised that THIS was one of my very favorite episodes to date! Mark LeBlanc has truly been one of my favorite humans since I first met him probably a decade ago! He has been my coach, friend and mentor. I love when he calls and it is always a blast when I get to hear him speak!  We cover SO SO many things in this show, grab a pen and paper and get listening!  You can find Mark here » www.growyourbusiness.com  And don't forget to watch 'How to Have Your Best Year Ever' there.   Let's chat on the gram » www.instagram.com/tenapettis www.tenapettis.com - shine on -  tena pettis

Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations and creates experiences for professionals who want to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in their pocket as a business owner. As a business coach, he has clocked over twenty thousand (one-to-one) coaching hours with professionals who want to grow their business or practice. In fact, he wrote the book, Growing Your Business! As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused each day, attract more prospects, stimulate more referrals and create a path for generating more business.  https://www.markleblanc.com/   If you like what you have heard from Mark during this interview, I would encourage you to go to his website and watch a 45-minute, luncheon speech Mark gave on how to have your best year ever! Check out Mark's electronic version of his book, Growing Your Business! www.growingyourbusiness.com   Mark also is the coauthor, along with Scott Love and Henry Devries, of Rainmaker Confidential. For more information about the book visit www.rainmakerconfidential.com. You can order the book through your favorite book retailer here: https://rainmakerconfidential.com/book/ This show is sponsored by Leopard Solutions Legal Intelligence Suite of products, Firmscape, and Leopard BI. Push ahead of the pack with the power of Leopard. For a free demo, visit this link: https://www.leopardsolutions.com/index.php/request-a-demo/  

Join the Indie Books family of speakers and authors for a roundtable discussion of how to have more impact and influence. On this week's episode Henry DeVries, CEO of Indie Books International, and Mark LeBlanc, chairman of Indie Books International, discuss their 3x3 matrix for writing a killer keynote in nine easy steps. Find out the nine easy steps to do in order to develop and enhance your keynote. If you would like Henry to email you the white paper please email him at Henry@indiebooksintl.com. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 73 Recorded 6/28/2022

Joining Joel Goldberg is a special personal guest, Marc LeBlanc, the corporate dropout turned legendary speaker, four-time author and masterful business coach. As a rookie he was accused of not having what it took to make it on his own. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, he went into business for himself at the ripe, young age of 21 and has never looked back. After years of trial, error and choosing action over perfection, he's become known as the grow your business guy. With unique perspectives and an approach to business that breaks the mold, it's no wonder he's garnered a reputation for success that reverberates around the globe.

If I could dump 10 books right into my brain and yours they would be:  1. Atomic Habits by James Clear 2. You are the Girl for the Job by Jess Connolly 3. Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone 4. One Great Goal by Ursula Mentjes 5. Growing Your Business by Mark LeBlanc 6. Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone 7. Limitless by Jim Qwik 8. Go Pro by Eric Worre 9. Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo 10. The Greatest Salesman in the World by OG Mandino To hear WHY, tune into today's episode!  AND let's connect more » www.instagram.com/tenapettis  OR grab up my 'Ready for Anything' training » www.tenapettis.com/ready

Extreme Focus: Benchmarks over GoalsOn this #PoisedforExit episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark LeBlanc and it's loaded with nuggets of wisdom and action steps!Mark is a national speaker and author. He also consults for professional sales people. He's had many years to perfect his process for his clients and his presentations are more than impactful. Can you tell I'm a fan? Mark says that one thing we all lack at times is focus. We tend to set 'goals' and then break our commitment to ourselves to achieve them (sound familiar?). We then look to the future for what we hope to accomplish this year, instead of on what we can accomplish today and in the next 30 days . Mark says that a "sliver of focus" will make more impact in your level of achievement using bite size business development tactics, woven into a morning routine that will pay back big dividends. He calls them "high level activities", even if you're simply sending a thank you card, making a phone call to a prospect, or sending a newsletter to promote your latest product or service. Our biggest enemy is fear in all its forms and as Mark says, it never sleeps. If your role is to develop more business for your own company or the one you work for, you'll want to go to his Growing your Business website to check out Mark's programs, books and presentations. He's even offering a no-strings attached free gift for our listeners! Simply email him at Mark@growingyourbusiness.com and he will send you his Focus Tool for free, and he will not add your name to his database. Really. For more on this outstanding interview, listen to the episode now!Find Mark here and find Julie here.Thank you to this month's sponsors! Sunbelt Business Advisors and JAK + Co. CPA's.

Join the Indie Books family of speakers and authors for a roundtable discussion of how to have more impact and influence. Indie Books VP of Production and Promotion, Devin DeVries, is our guest cohost this week. She and Mark LeBlanc discuss the power of the showcase seminar strategy. We also hear from the Indie Books authors on what worked well in their businesses this year. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 50 Recorded 12/21/2021

This week cohost Mark LeBlanc, author of "Rainmaker Confidential" and "Growing Your Business," discusses "How to Increase Your Speaking Fees." Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He conducts presentations and creates retreat-type experiences for independent and practice professionals who want to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in their pocket. His nationally renowned Achievers Circle business retreat is ideal for professionals who want to develop a path and plan for true business growth. In fact, he has authored or coauthored five business development books, including his underground bestseller Growing Your Business. He has given over 1,000 presentations and conducted over 200 business retreats. Mark is a past president of the National Speakers Association and was inducted into the Minnesota Speakers Hall of Fame in 2006. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 48 Recorded 12/7/2021

One of the hardest disciplines to master as a business owner is focus. In fact, it's the whole reason why we started SpeakerFlow and our coaching program. Before anyone can make use of fancy strategies and business systems, before they could start selling and marketing, before they could build a team and get out of the weeds, they need focus and clarity about the direction they're heading. As a visionary, lack of clarity is your kryptonite. And today, we've brought in the master of focus. A legend, really - Mark LeBlanc. Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations on how to create extreme focus and put more money in your pocket as a business owner. As a business coach, he has clocked over 20,000 coaching hours on how to start and grow a successful business. In fact, he is the author of six books, including his first book, Growing Your Business! As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused daily, generate undeniable momentum and do more of the good work they are called and compelled to do. On a personal note, when not speaking or coaching – he often goes on a short, five hundred mile walk across Spain. His next walk is in 2023. Let's dive in! Show Notes: ✅ Learn more about Mark and his book, Growing Your Business: https://growingyourbusiness.com

Mark LeBlanc is the executive director of Vestiaire St. Joseph. To support the 30 Days of Caring campaign for food banks in southeast New Brunswick, visit our website: www.cbc/bekind and select New Brunswick.

Intro Welcome to the Arch MI Podcast, featuring our senior customer trainer, Blaine Rada. Arch Mortgage Insurance company, or Arch MI, is a leading provider of mortgage insurance or MI in the United States. Our competitive pricing tool, Arch MI Rate Star, is the leading risk-based pricing platform in the industry providing rates based on a thorough understanding of the underlying risk. Here's your host, Blaine Rada. Blaine Rada: [00:00:34] Welcome to the podcast. My name is Blaine Rada with Arch MI. I really appreciate you taking time to invest in yourself and I promise not to waste your time. My intent is to help you separate and differentiate yourself from the competition. And I do this by sharing perspective and experiences from doing this work for over 30 years. Like the previous two seasons of this podcast, I plan to be unscripted and conversational, which means I never quite know what I'm going to say or how long it will take me to say it. However, I would like season three to be a little different with shorter episodes and an even easier to implement set of ideas. So, let's get to it.  [00:01:10] This is part two of 10 Steps to Sales Success. And part two is about five key questions. If you didn't listen to part one, it was five must have skills. And while these episodes do stand alone, there are some kind of complimentary things back and forth that you'll discover if you listen to both of them. So five key questions are simply questions that I believe successful salespeople ask themselves and get the answers to. And of course, it's one of the reasons why they're successful. So the very first one is what's my brand. Now branding, again, this is a really huge topic and there's a lot of experts out there that are much more skilled and knowledgeable about branding than I am. So I would encourage you to seek out that information and do your own research. But I want to just make a few suggestions about your brand. And this is, you know, primarily it's you, right. Brand you as opposed to the brand of perhaps the organization that you work for. But there are different levels of brand, right? There's the brand of the company you're employed by. There's the brand of the team or the group that you work for or with. And then of course, there's you. You incorporated, so to speak. What is your brand?  [00:02:34] One of the most compelling parts of any brand is what's known as point of view. In fact, it's become kind of so necessary that you'll even hear the expression, POV marketing, or point of view marketing. And the way I relate it to the sales process is that people just want to know what you're all about. Like they want to know what you stand for, what you believe in. Even simple things like, why do you do this work? You know, what is it about this work that gets you up every morning excited to do it. Why do you work where you work? And we don't tend to think about sharing our point of view. Like a lot of people are hesitant to do that because they don't want to offend somebody or they don't think it's appropriate to share that kind of information unless they're specifically asked. But I would suggest that in the sales process, it is important to share your point of view. Because there's a lot of things that affect a brand or that can be identified as a brand that are not that. That are not your point of view. Things that almost anybody would be talking about that a potential customer or client would be interacting with. So for instance, is part of your brand that you're selling a solution to a problem, right? That's one way to look at a brand. What is the solution that you're selling? Another way to look at a brand is, do you help people achieve a particular result? You know, what is the actual result that you help people accomplish? Of course, many times your brand is kind of your product or products. And that's what you're kind of identifying with. I'm going to give you a suggestion for perhaps how to identify what you incorporated, what you personally might have as a brand that you're not even aware of or in touch with. And that is to make sure that you get feedback from people. And I'm sure you do, right. You have people that either say or write nice things about you. You've helped them in a way that they appreciate and they talk about it and they mention it, at least to you. If you start to pay attention to the feedback that you get, the testimonials, if you will, the endorsements, whatever word you want to use, if you start to pay attention, there will be probably two or three words that actually consistently come up more often than you've ever realized in people's feedback. In other words, these are the things that people are identifying in you that you may have never gotten in touch with yourself. I'll give you a personal example. Over the last several years, in my speaking and training and even the topics that I've spoken about have evolved over time. But over the last few years, I have started to see in the feedback that I'm receiving a couple of words like motivational or inspirational. Now I would have never identified with those words. In fact, I almost stay away from using words like motivational or inspirational because that is definitely not my style. In other words, when I picture those words, I think of somebody that if you were in an in-person presentation, you know, they jump on the table and they fist pump in the air and they shout and they yell and they make people scream and get excited. It's kind of like this high energy, high octane kind of a presenter that gets people all fired up and then leaves the room, and then of course the energy dissipates. I've never identified with that particular style of speaking. Not only do I not do it myself, but I don't even necessarily get much out of it when I see someone who does it that way. But I don't think that's what people are talking about. I think what people are talking about when they say that they received motivation or inspiration is that I got them thinking. That I kind of got into their heads a little bit and they started to think about things in a way that maybe they hadn't thought about before. And that was kind of inspiring to them, and it kind of motivated them to do something with those thoughts. Well, that's spot on. That's exactly what I try to do. But I personally would have never used words like motivational or inspirational. Now that I'm seeing that come up consistently in the feedback that I get, it's helping me appreciate what those words mean and that yes, that actually could be a part of my brand. So part of identifying your brand is actually reaching out to other people and finding out what their impression of you is. Like, how would they identify your brand if they had to describe it in a couple of words. The other thing I'd have you consider in kind of tossing around what your brand is, are you more about the journey or the boat, right? The journey or the boat. So just using mortgage lending as an example, the boat is the mortgage, right? The boat is the outcome. People have come to you because they need a mortgage. You're helping them to get that mortgage, and so ultimately it's about that product, right? That's the boat. But there's also a journey that they're going to go on. The journey is this process that you're going to lead them on. And that may actually be more important to your brand than the boat itself. So again, what are you selling? I think a lot of times we focus on that product or the boat when it's really the journey that people are after. And you know, I mean, just think about why people would take a cruise as an example. I mean, yeah, it is about the ship itself. Is it glamorous, does it have the amenities they want, is it the size of a ship that they would want to be on? There's a certain amount of taking a cruise that is about the ship, the boat, so to speak. And for some people that is actually the main reason why they cruise. Like they never even get off the boat, even when it goes into a port and people have the ability to leave the ship, they stay on it because they just enjoy being on the ship and taking part in entertainment or in gambling and eating and whatever it is that they like to do. Other people, the ship is just a vessel. It's just transportation. They're all about the excursions, seeing different parts of the world. Again, I'm just using that as a metaphor in anything that you're selling, there's the part that is the ship and there's the part that's the journey. And it may be useful when you think about your brand to think about it from that standpoint. So basically, I've given you lots of potential homework, right? Are you selling a solution to a problem? Are you selling a product? Are you selling a particular outcome or helping people achieve a goal? Is it more about the journey or the boat? And again, ask for feedback. If you don't actually get regular feedback, it never hurts to even ask people, how would you describe the experience of working with me over these last several weeks and see what kind of words people start to say when they talk about you. You'll probably notice two or three key words that come up consistently. That's probably your brand. Okay, so that's question number one. Key question number one, what's my brand.  [00:09:31] Question number two, why choose me? I think we need to have an answer to that question. Why choose me? And if we just want to cut to the chase, the shortcut is it's all about value. Because no one's going to do business with you if they don't perceive that there's a value in doing business with you. So again, to use our business as an example, realtors, if you were to talk to realtors and ask them how is it that we can do business with each other, right. What are you looking for? What do you need in a lender? How can we form a relationship and a partnership? If they were honest, they'd basically say, I need to know the value that you bring me and how it's different from everybody else that I do business with. And that may sound kind of blunt, but that's exactly what everybody's asking even subconsciously when they're trying to figure out who to give their business to, what is the value in doing business with you and how is that different from the other choices that I have. Those are the things that you're going to want to have an answer to. And it's kind of what I call, why choose me. Now what we're really talking about are competitive advantages. That's the marketing expression that would be used here, competitive advantages. And so I want to give you a quick primer on, well, what are those things, exactly. And they're usually things that have nothing to do with price. Even though people ask you about your rates and your fees and how much it's going to cost to do business with you. You know, they ask that all the time, unless you've got the lowest price in town, you need to have another story to tell. You need to have something else that you can explain as a reason why people should do business with you. [00:10:56] So a competitive advantage really has three components. The first is that it's what you're all about. It almost kind of goes back to what's my brand. What is your point of view? Who are you? What do you stand for? A part of your competitive advantage is, again, you incorporated. It can't be something temporary. It can't be a sale that you're running or something that's just a short-term way of doing business. A true competitive advantage is kind of built into your DNA. It's what you're all about. And again, you could be thinking about this as you, your team, your company. Second part of a competitive advantage is that it's different. It's something that is maybe not one of a kind, pretty hard to be one of a kind in business now, because especially if you truly have something that's one of a kind, it's only a matter of time before somebody else has it. I mean, everybody just kinda copies from everybody else. So don't necessarily search for one of a kind, but what is unique or different in doing business with you? Again, it might be a product, it might be a service, it might be the experience they're going to have. It might be the knowledge or the way that you hold a person's hand and walk them through this transaction. Again, there's going to be some things that you do, well, maybe not one of a kind are at least considered different or unique. And the most important part of a competitive advantage is that you could actually quantify it. That you could actually put a number to it, that you could measure it. Because to just say things like, oh, I'm all about service or I close loans really quickly or I have a lot of experience or I work with a great team. I mean, all those things may be true and they sound fine, but if you could put a number to them, I have 30 years of experience. I work with people who've been doing this work for at least a minimum of 10 years. Everybody on my team has a minimum of 10 years' experience. Doesn't that sound a lot more compelling than I work with a great group, or we've got the best people in the business. It's kind of like answering the question, what's your interest rate? You'd never answer that without giving them a number, right? You'd never say some vague thing like, oh, it's really low. Or it's really good. If somebody asks you what your interest rate is, you're going to tell them what your interest rate is. So a competitive advantage needs to be that quantifiable. So you may need to measure some things in order to know what that is. Okay. So all of those things, again, are ways of trying to think, why choose me. It comes down to what is the value that you have, what is the value that you offer and how is that different? And again, another way of looking at it would be, is it a competitive advantage? Is it somehow such a part of how you do business and it's different from what's in the marketplace and you can quantify how good it is, then you're onto something. [00:13:47] All right. Question number three. What's my niche? Or some people would say niche. I'm never quite sure which is the correct pronunciation. Probably either is fine. There's a lot of conversation around niching. And in our business, I think what we tend to focus on is demographics. Demographics are basically how the world sees us, that's a demographic. How the world sees us. So as an example, I am a middle-aged man from the Midwest. I just gave you three demographics about myself. There are things that are easily quantifiable or easily measurable, easily determined. Male, middle aged, lives in the Midwest. And so companies will use that information to target market. They'll decide, well, we want to do business with middle-aged men, or we want to do business with men who live in the Midwest. And so we tend to get very kind of fixated in business on what demographics, you know, where are there opportunities, what demographic do I want to work with? And that's fine, other than everybody else is doing that. And so it just makes business harder because if everybody's focusing on building their business in the same way or going after, for instance, the same demographics, then it just makes it harder. So if you haven't heard this term before, I'm going to introduce you to psychographics. So if a demographic is how the world sees us, a psychographic is how we see ourselves. So now we're talking about things that aren't visible, we're talking about things that aren't readily knowable. What are my concerns? What are my fears? What are my goals? What are my aspirations? What am I anxious about as it relates to this transaction that we may be doing business together. And it's obvious now that all middle-aged men from the Midwest are not going to have the same psychographics, right. That becomes obvious. So if you can start to identify psychographics that you specifically are a good fit for, and honestly it might be ones that are similar to your own. Like, do you identify with people who are anxious about buying their first home and getting a mortgage? Now, a first time home buyer is a demographic. But people buying their first home who have a lot of anxiety around that process, now the anxiety part would be the psychographic. And do you see how you can position yourself differently? If you're an expert in working with people who are anxious and you have an ability and a skill to kind of calm people and make the process have less anxiety, you're starting to attract a whole group of people that otherwise would have never seeked you out because they didn't know that that was something that somebody specialized in. So psychographic allows you to really kind of niche down even further. And so I think that's a question that's worth kicking around. What are the niches or what is the niche that you're perfectly suited to serve? This is the group that you can help the most. [00:17:07] All right. That was question number three. Number four, how can I stand out? Specifically, how can I stand out from the crowd? Sales is a crowded marketplace, right? There's a lot of choices. Probably never been as many choices as there are. And so how do you be different? How do you stand out? I mean, we've already kind of talked about a few things that kind of relate to that question, but let me give you a suggestion I haven't given before, I don't think in any of the podcast episodes I've done. If you think about the things that people dislike about interacting with a salesperson, there's no shortage of data on this. I mean, you can do your own research. Of course everything you find out there may not necessarily be true. You have to do some vetting and make sure that the information you're getting is accurate. But even intuitively, if you just asked yourself, what are the things that people dislike about dealing with a salesperson. There's probably a common list. So I recently came across a survey that had three things. The top three things that people identified were problems that they said they associated in dealing with a salesperson. I'll just give you what those three things are. One of them was, they felt that sales people didn't listen to them. They felt that salespeople talked too much and didn't listen. Okay. That sounds reasonable. I can appreciate that. I mean, you've been in that position yourself as the buyer, right. You've been in a position where you've been dealing with a salesperson who is obviously not in touch with, you know, where you're at, right? They've not spent enough time trying to understand you. And they've just been kind of going on and on about themselves and their product and their company. And you're feeling like these people don't get me at all. That is a common complaint that people have about working with salespeople is they feel like they didn't get listened to and the salesperson talked too much. That was number one on the list. Number two, they feel like they didn't respond to their requests in a timely manner. Now, sometimes that's an unreasonable kind of thing, right. Like somebody called you up, you weren't available, they expect you to call in like 30 seconds. Well, that's obviously not reasonable. But I think there's some truth to people saying the sales person wasn't responsive. The sales person didn't honor their commitments because I've experienced it myself, right. As a buyer of products and services, I would say more often than not salespeople make promises and they don't honor them. And again, I don't think it's intentional. I don't think they're intentionally misrepresenting themselves. I just think that they make promises they can't keep, and that they're not very good at followup and that they're not responsive. And this is what's showing up in the surveys. People don't like that. And the third thing that I saw in this survey is that people said the sales person doesn't understand my needs. That kind of goes back to the listening. But they specifically said, the sales person doesn't understand my needs. So, if we just recap these problems that buyers have typically said they don't like about dealing with salespeople, that the salespeople don't listen to them, they talk too much, that the salespeople don't respond to their requests, especially in a timely enough manner or that the salespeople, they didn't feel understood their needs. If you simply work on not being any of those things, if you simply work on being the person that listens and doesn't talk too much or being the person that is responsive or being the person that really tries to understand what their needs are. In other words, if you simply try to do the things that people have said that this is what they want in a salesperson, because this is what they don't like in a salesperson doesn't that automatically make you different? Doesn't that automatically set you apart from the crowd. Because the crowd is what people are responding to. So whenever you see somebody saying, here's a list of things that I don't like about doing business, just don't do that. Just don't do those things that people say they don't like. [00:21:05] All right. So that was question number four. Number five, who can impact my business? And I'm going to share an idea that I actually heard from someone else. So I want to give attribution to Mark Leblanc. Mark Leblanc is a small business owner that actually helps other businesses grow, helps small businesses grow. And he has what's called the advocate strategy. So what we're talking about here is, you know, who can impact your business. And the advocate strategy is probably the lowest cost, highest return thing that you can do to grow your business. So if you're interested in the lowest cost, highest return, it's the advocate strategy. And it has three pieces to it. And again, you can modify it to fit your approach, but I probably wouldn't modify it too much because Mark Leblanc has figured out that this is really a pretty solid piece of advice. So the first thing is to have a list of people, roughly 25 in number. Have a list of 25 people who you think are people who could impact your business. Now that in and of itself sometimes is a difficult thing to sit down and figure out. So who could impact your business? Well certainly, people who've worked with you before, right? So like referral sources or people who have used you before, you know, repeat customers, so to speak. The people who know you and like you and appreciate what you do. Those are certainly people who could impact your business. But it could also be just people who are your biggest fans. I mean, they may not even be people who you've done business with. Now, I probably would carve out family members. Although sometimes family members can actually be a great source of business building. It's just that sometimes that also gets a little weird because when somebody says, oh, you should do business with John. Then they ask why they said that and they say, well, I'm John's father. Well, right away that referral is a little less impactful because of course John's father is probably going to say, you should do business with John. But there are fans that you have out there. There are people in the business community, or in your personal circles who really admire you and trust you and just would be happy to speak kindly about you and send people your way. So this list of people obviously can change over time. It's not like the first time you write down 25 people's names that that list stays forever— those twenty-five people. People are going to kind of come and go in and out of your life. But that's the first step of the advocate strategy is to have a list of roughly 25 people that you've identified are people who could impact your business in a positive way or help you grow your business. All right, the second part of the strategy is to contact them. Now, Mark's suggestion is every 30 days. Now I know when I first heard that, I thought, wow, that's a lot of contact. Like, is this almost bordering on harassment? Like contacting people every 30 days, that's asking a lot. But it's not, when you think about it. And again, you can determine if 30 days is the right timing, just like you can determine if 25 people is the right number to have on your list. The idea is there's a lot of ways to contact people, right. I mean, there's reaching out and calling them or sending them a text or an email, or even sending something physically in what used to be called the mail. I mean, a lot of people don't use that anymore but there's lots of ways to reach out to somebody. And so Mark's idea is that you've got these 25 people and you're making some type of contact with them every 30 days. Okay. So number three, and this might be the most important part, the contact intent needs to be neutral. In other words, you're not selling, you're not reaching out to these people every 30 days to say, hey, got any business for me? Got anybody you could send to me? Because then that would probably be considered too much, right? I mean, to be banging on somebody's door metaphorically every 30 days to say, hey, you know, can we do business or you got any business for me, that would become a nuisance. Instead, the contact is neutral. It's not selling. Again, the possibilities are endless. You could just reach out to see how someone's doing. You could recognize some type of special occasion, like a birthday or an anniversary. You could send them a piece of information that you think would be valuable or interesting to them. But the key is you're not selling yourself when you make these contacts on a regular basis. And so here are 25 people who probably think very highly of you and the work that you do, and you're just kind of consistently staying in their awareness by reaching out to them as often as you choose, Mark says 30 days. Again, it could be as simple as just sending a little text. Hey, thinking of you, hope you're having a great day. I mean, to me, that qualifies as a contact. Or it could be something more specifically like, hey, I've got this new idea. I'd like to run by you, can I book 20 minutes of your time? Again, it's like the possibilities are endless. Now, this sounds really simple, right? A list of names, regular contact, don't be salesy. You know where the challenge is, it's doing it. The challenge is having the list, keeping it up to date, actually doing the contact every 30 days, and making sure that you're not selling yourself. Because that tends to seep in, especially if business is slow and I'm really trying to figure out how to do more business. You know, I start to get anxious and sell more to people. And again, Mark Leblanc is saying don't sell. The selling kind of takes care of itself. That's known as the advocate strategy.  [00:26:55] Okay. So that was the five key questions. Again, this is kind of part two of 10 steps to sales success. And part one, we talked about some must have skills. Five must have skills that you just can't skip. This was part two, five key questions. First question was what's my brand. And I specifically highlighted point of view. People want to know what you're about, what you stand for, why you do what you do. But I gave you many different ways of trying to articulate your brand, including asking for feedback, finding out what people really value in doing business with you. The second question was why choose me, which really is a value question. What's the value in doing business with you and how are you any different from the other choices that people have. We talked a little bit about how that relates to competitive advantages. Question number three, what's my niche or what's my niche? We talked about the difference between a demographic and a psychographic. And if you can really market to people's psychographic, there's far less competition and you're far more compelling than when you just market to people's demographics, which is what we see on the outside, psychographics is what's on the inside. So we have to learn what that is, right? So you have to actually build a relationship to know what a person's psychographic is. Question number four, how can I stand out, specifically stand out from a crowded field? And I specifically talked about things that people don't like in dealing with salespeople. So just don't do that. Just don't do the things that people don't like and you automatically stand out. And then last was sharing Mark LeBlanc's advocate strategy, which might be the lowest cost, highest return thing that you can do. Basically staying in touch with people who can impact your business in a non salesy way. All right. Well, you know, as much as I try to not put too much content and not take too much time in these, it seems like every time when I'm done with one of these, I think, well, yeah, that was about another 30 minutes and I actually put a lot more content in there than I thought I would. So much for my field that season three would be different. So far, it's sounding a lot like seasons one and two, at least in my approach. I'll work on that as we go forward. So that's it for this episode. But again, your work with these ideas is just beginning. I'd like to finish with this idea that we think clarity leads to action, when in fact it's action that leads to clarity. And again, that's worth repeating. We think clarity leads to action when in fact action leads to clarity. Only when we put ideas into practice will we really understand what they mean. So I'm encouraging you, if you want to get the maximum return on your investment of time today, take action on something that you found valuable. It's always a pleasure to spend some time with you. This is Blaine Rada with Arch MI, thank you for listening.  Outro Arch Capital Group Limited's US mortgage insurance operation, Arch MI, is a leading provider of private insurance covering mortgage credit risk. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, Arch MI's mission is to protect lenders against credit risk, while extending the possibility of responsible homeownership to qualified borrowers. Arch MI's flagship mortgage insurer, Arch Mortgage Insurance Company, is licensed to write mortgage insurance in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit ArchMI.com. Arch MI is a marketing term for Arch Mortgage Insurance Company and United Guaranty Residential Insurance Company. All right reserved.  

Join the Indie Books family of speakers and authors for a roundtable discussion of how to have more impact and influence. This week we are joined by Henry DeVries, Scott Love & Mark LeBlanc, authors of "Rainmaker Confidential " to discuss, "How To Make It Rain The Rainmaker Confidential Way". You cannot ask your most successful competitors and peers their secrets of rainmaking. That would be awkward, impractical, and sometimes illegal. So, Henry DeVries, Scott Love, and Mark LeBlanc did it for you. The three authors of the new book Rainmaker Confidential will be interviewed by Patricia Fripp, Hall of Fame speaker and new Indie Books author. She will grill them on how they went behind closed doors and asked the tough questions. She will find out how they asked more than one hundred successful rainmakers what they are investing more in, what they are cutting back on, and what are their go-to strategies. In other words, how are they investing their time, treasure, and talent. Think of Henry, Scott, and Mark as your rainmaking R&D department. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 46 Recorded 11/23/2021

A book is the number one marketing strategy for a consultant or coach, but speaking about the book is the number one sales strategy. The podcast is filled with speaking tips and tricks from Mark LeBlanc, author of six books and past president of the National Speakers Association, and Henry DeVries, author of fourteen books and a weekly business development columnist for Forbes.com. Together they have trained more than one thousand consultants and coaches to add professional speaking to their revenue streams. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 43 Recorded 11/2/2021

In this program, Michelle McCormick, Revenue Integrity Director, Clinical Documentation Integrity and Mark LeBlanc, Manager Clinical Documentation Integrity, both at Stanford Health, discuss how they shaped their successful CDI program through the fundamentals of prioritization, clarity and transparency.   Guests: Michelle McCormick, RN, MBA-HCM, BSN, CCDS, CCS, CRCR Revenue Integrity Director, Clinical Documentation Integrity Stanford Health   Mark LeBlanc, RN, MBA, CCDS Manager, Clinical Documentation Integrity Stanford Health   Moderator: Marilyn Sherrill PI Program Director Vizient   For more information, email picollaboratives@vizientinc.com   Show Notes: [00:00 – 01:56]  CDI prioritization [01:57 – 03:09]  When prioritizing DRG's look for the unusual. [03:10 – 05:05]  Clarity within the reporting process [05:06 – 06:30]  Transparency and how it shapes future improvement initiatives [06:31 – 07:56]  Feedback from their physician partners [07:57 – 09:18]  Meaningful response rate advantages [09:19 – 09:43]  Don't try and boil the ocean   Disclaimer This presentation is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace independent professional judgment. The statements and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not represent the views or opinions of Stanford Health Care.  Stanford Health Care does not endorse or assume responsibility for the content, accuracy or completeness of the information presented.   Subscribe Today! Apple Podcasts Amazon Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Android Stitcher RSS Feed

Episode 293: An Aspirational Gift in Tragedy with “The Amazing Hondo” We all have something in common, six categories of universal human needs. When our needs for connection, physical well-being, honesty, play, autonomy, and meaning go unmet regularly, we become unhappy. The contrary is also true. When our needs get met regularly, we feel affectionate, excited, confident, inspired, joyful, refreshed, peaceful, engaged, and hopeful. Feelings give us clues to help us better meet our needs and, by extension, learn to meet others' needs better. “The Amazing Hondo” Hughes implemented a survival strategy when a primary need for connection with his parents became disrupted. He permitted himself to get his needs met outside of his family of origin. Mentors in sports, math, and magic encouraged Hondo to develop his gifts and talents and share them with others. Legendary Billy Peterson was Hondo's baseball coach.  Facebook Part of Hondo's longevity is his innovative and creative marketing practices to leverage client relationships. When you are only as good as your next big gig, meaningful conversations can increase incoming calls by 50% and turn one gig into many. Business mentoring from Mark LeBlanc has also deepened Hondo's business sense. A penny analogy underscores how to grow your business exponentially. There are pearls of wisdom sprinkled throughout our conversation as Hondo talks about building a career through his craft of magic with a message. Three tips for building your portfolio are one example. And, imagining yourself where you want to be will increase the odds of getting there was a piece of advice from a mentor. Hondo recalls a treasured memory of visiting Muhammad Ali at his home. Muhammad Ali said he was forming a comeback and jokingly says to Hondo, “With all your jive, I'll take you in five.” In his 40s, tragedy knocked on Hondo's doorstep. Two police officers deliver the news of his youngest brother Mark's death by suicide. The aspiration for Hondo's magic came from Mark. Mark was a gifted guitar player, singer, comedian. Early in Mark's life, he became interested in magic and took lessons at Eagle Magic Store with Al Schneider and brought Hondo to the store. As if one tragedy weren't enough, Hondo's mother died of lung cancer two years before Mark's death, and his Dad died a few years later. Each death prompted an inward focus and a ‘stop doing' and ‘start being' kind of human focus. His performances took on new meaning, and his audiences include Mark's presence and Hondo's gratitude. I leave you with two exercises you can download and complete: Universal Human Needs Exercise and WeMentor Workaholism Quiz. And Cat Stevens' lyrics to Where Do The Children Play. Tune in to find out why this song meant so much to Mark and Hondo. DOWNLOAD Where Do The Children Play by Cat Stevens Well, I think it's fine, building Jumbo planes Or taking a ride on a cosmic train Switch on summer from a slot machine Get what you want to if you want, 'cause you can get anything. I know we've come a long way We're changing day today But tell me, where do the children play? Well, you roll on roads over fresh green grass For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas And you make them long, and you make them tough But they go on and on, and it seems you can't get off Oh, I know we've come a long way We're changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play? Well you've cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air Will you keep on building higher ‘Til there's no more room up there? Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry? Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die? I know we've come a long way We're changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play?    Please do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below. Podcast Sponsor Strategies to Grow Your Business Monthly Bookkeeping Payroll Services Back Office Strategies and Support Contact Us Now Episode Resources

Rock Your Short talk Redux, with Eleni Kelakos. In a short talk that reflects the key elements of her S.P.E.A.K short talk formula, Eleni will remind you how and why to create a rockin' short talk to market your book or business. And then four fabulous speakers—Mark LeBlanc, Henry DeVries, Patrick McGowan and Devin DeVries-- will model Eleni's teachings by sharing their own rockin' short talks! If you would like more information on her workshop please visit https://theelenigroup.com Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 29 Recorded 7/20/2021

Mark LeBlanc, CSP has been on his own virtually his entire, adult life. He once had a job for six months and was inspired by the two words, “You're fired!” At the ripe, young age of 21, he vowed he would do whatever it would take to make it on his own. And he has. He will celebrate his 36th anniversary in business this year! He has experienced the good, bad, ugly and great of being his own boss. He runs a speaking business based in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations (over one thousand) on how to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in your pocket as a business owner. His keynote speech titled Never Be the Same is a catalyst for how consistency plays a vital role in achieving in times of challenge and change. While he shares unique insights and ideas on commitment, his reveal on resolve will change the way your people take action for the rest of their lives.  Mark has published or co-authored four books, including his first book, Growing Your Business which became an underground bestseller and boasts over 800 quantity orders of fifty copies of more. Other books include: Never Be the Same, Build Your Consulting Practice and Defining YOU. https://www.markleblanc.com/

Join the Indie Books family of speakers and authors for a roundtable discussion of how to have more impact and influence. This week we are joined by Mark LeBlanc, author of the underground bestseller, Growing Your Business and Henry DeVries, author of the Amazon marketing and sales #1 bestseller, How To Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett, and the business development columnist for Forbes.com for a special forum podcast to discuss, "How To Get More Impact & Influence". We discuss preparing and promoting your book, getting booked as a speaker and who your target audience looks like and the problem you solve. May the Fourth be with you. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 18 Recorded 5/4/2021

On this week's episode Henry DeVries, CEO of Indie Books International, and Mark LeBlanc, chairman of Indie Books International, discuss the pros and cons of coauthoring business books. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 117 Recorded 4/27/2021

This week we are joined by Mark LeBlanc, author of "Defining YOU", to discuss, "The Value Of Mentoring". What have you learned from your formal and informal mentor/mentee relationships? Are you seeking a mentor? Have you given serious consideration to being a mentor or Better mentor? Find out what you need to know and do in order to develop and enhance these critical relationships in your life and work. Plan to bring an insight, idea, principle or perspective you have carried with you throughout your life, career or work that was shared by someone you looked up to. Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 15 Recorded 4/13/2021

Mark LeBlanc, CSP has been on his own virtually his entire, adult life. He once had a job for six months and was inspired by the two words, “You're fired!” At the ripe, young age of 21, he vowed he would do whatever it would take to make it on his own. And he has.Mark runs a speaking and coaching business based in Minneapolis. His keynote speech titled Never Be the Same is a catalyst for how consistency plays a vital role in achieving in times of challenge and change. While he shares unique insights and ideas on commitment, his reveal on resolve will change the way your people take action for the rest of their lives. Mark has published or co-authored four books, including his first book, Growing Your Business which became an underground bestseller. His other books include: Never Be the Same, Build Your Consulting Practice and Defining YOU.Here are a few of the topics we'll discuss on this episode of Consulting with AuthorityWho Mark LeBlanc is and how he's helped me better serve my customers.The best ways for business leaders to process the pandemic.The importance of having compassion in the business world.The global impact of the pandemic and the hidden opportunities it's created.How best to outreach new potential clients.Tactics and strategies you can use to open new doors.The importance of having mentors.Resources:“Defining You” Digital Book (courtesy of Mark)Discover Your Accelerated Growth Score HERE Connecting with Mark LeBlanc:LinkedInFacebookTwitterMark LeBlanc's WebsiteConnecting with the Host:Scott Cantrell on LinkedInSmart Solutions MediaJoin Breakthrough Now on Facebook

What is one of the best ways to work smarter, not harder, in dentistry?  Increased case acceptance.  This is a topic I am so passionate about, I even co-authored a book on the subject. Join me along with my fabulous co-authors, Henry DeVries and Mark LeBlanc as we share the importance of story-telling.  You will […]

This week we are joined by Mark LeBlanc, author of "Growing Your Business!", to discuss, "How To Grow The Business When You Are The Business". Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations and creates experiences for professionals who want to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in their pocket as a business owner. As a business coach, he has clocked over twenty thousand (one to one) coaching hours with professionals who want to grow their business or practice. In fact, he wrote the book, Growing Your Business! As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused each day, attract more prospects, stimulate more referrals and create a path for generating more business. On a personal note, next Summer, he will go on a short, five-hundred-mile walk across Spain – for the fourth time! https://www.markleblanc.com Please visit our website to learn more https://indiebooksintl.com Marketing With A Book Podcast Episode 11 Recorded 3/16/2021

Interviewing the one and only Mark LeBlanc Jr. drummer of Project 432! We'll be talking music, studio, analog mixers, projects, drums, every single one of his extreme sports injuries(there is a lot to unwrap there) and he'll be telling us all about his love for dogs! Parrttyyyyy --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thesunshineshow/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thesunshineshow/support

Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations and creates experiences for professionals who want to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in their pocket as a business owner. As a business coach, he has clocked over twenty thousand (one to one) coaching hours with professionals who want to grow their business or practice. In fact, he wrote the book, Growing Your Business! As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused each day, attract more prospects, stimulate more referrals, and create a path for generating more business. On a personal note, next Summer, he will go on a short, five-hundred-mile walk across Spain – for the fourth time! LINKS: Connect with Mark: Email: mark@growingyourbusiness.com website: www.growingyourbusiness.com Per Mark's in show offer, email him at this address to request your free electronic copy of Defining YOU: How Smart Professionals Craft the Answers to: Who Are You? What do you Do? How Can You Help Me? Book: Growing Your Business!   Connect with Bill: bill@brandingpillars.com www.brandingpillars.com www.brandingforresults.com IG - @wcellis Facebook - @CoachBillEllis LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/wcellis Book: Women Who Won   QUICK EPISODE SUMMARY: Meet Mark What happened in the Summer of 1982 Purpose is a journey The slide story How Mark and Bill met The Achievers Circle and how it came to be Overcoming the monsters and problems in your business Why Mark made his book such a unique size One of the quotes that impacted Mark the most The essence of Marks new book When Mark found the right one Mark's response to - what's the point?  

Spoiler Alert! We want to make sure we don’t ruin Amazon Prime’s new reality show The Pack for you, so if you are planning to watch the series wait to listen to this episode until you’ve seen them all! Mark LeBlanc and his dog Ace were one of twelve teams competing to win the around the world race that challenged the contestants - both two and four-legged - through a series of different tasks designed to test their skills. The top prize was $500,000, but the contestants also chose a charity that would receive $250,000 if they won. We won’t say who wins, but Mark’s charity was Best Friends! We talked to Mark about his experience on the show, about his life with Ace, and learned more about his photography and the new podcast he hopes will inspire people to live their best lives.

Running an advisory business can feel a lot like riding a roller coaster. At first, you’re in high gear trying to get some traction in the market. Eventually, you reach a tipping point. Then suddenly you find yourself going full bore servicing an influx of new clients. When the joyride stops, you’re right back where you started, facing another uphill climb. It's downright exhausting. And it’s not so great for the bottom line either. But there’s a better way, and today on the Elementality podcast, business development coach Mark LeBlanc joins Reese Harper to discuss it. They talk about why advisors get caught up in this roller coaster dynamic, and what it takes to break free of it. That includes essential business development activities, the importance of tracking monthly targets and trend lines, and the unexpected impact of your compensation structure. Finally, Mark shares the 3 keys needed to pull off the transition to this alternative model. Even if you're a big fan of roller coasters, you’re sure to appreciate the smoother, more predictable business performance it delivers.

Mark LeBlanc is the Executive Director at Vestiaire St-Joseph.

Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations and creates experiences for professionals who want to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in their pocket as a business owner. As a business coach, he has clocked over twenty thousand (one to one) coaching hours with professionals who want to grow their business or practice. In fact, he wrote the book, Growing Your Business! As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused each day, attract more prospects, stimulate more referrals and create a path for generating more business. On a personal note, next Summer, he will go on a short, five-hundred-mile walk across Spain – for the fourth time! https://www.markleblanc.com/ If you like what you have heard from Mark on this interview, I would encourage you to go to his web site and watch a 45-minute, luncheon speech Mark gave on how to have your best year ever!   Check out Mark's electronic version of his book, Growing Your Business! www.growingyourbusiness.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I welcome Kent Rader! Kent is known as the World's Cleanest Comedian, and he is also a motivational speaker and author of the book, "Let It Go, Just Let It Go" about how to deal with stress. From his background of accounting to his professional speaking career and everything in between, Kent shares what fires him up about the arts.  Get in touch with Kent Rader: www.kentraderspeaks.com | https://www.facebook.com/Kent-Rader-130340647028349 | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT77fL6ZiPfx7lyCLAmDgog Support Artfully Told: www.paypal.me/elevateartArtfully Told links: www.facebook.com/artfullytold | www.artfullytold.podbean.com | elevateartskc@gmail.comSchedule your interview with Artfully Told! https://calendly.com/artfullytold/podcast-interview Intro & Outro Music Credits:Bad Ideas (distressed) by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3412-bad-ideas-distressed-License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Episode 19 - Kent RaderLindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.[00:00:07] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.[00:00:13] Roman: All I can do is put my part out into the world.[00:00:16] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.[00:00:24] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience  as so beautiful.[00:00:33] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello and welcome back to Artfully Told. I'm your host, Lindsey, and I am so excited to have as my guest today the absolutely  wonderful Kent Rader, and Kent is the world's cleanest comedian. He is also a motivational speaker, a accountant, and so much more. And Kent, thank you so much for being here. I am just delighted that you are here with us.[00:01:02] Kent Rader: Well, thank you for having me, Lindsay. I've missed talking to you.[00:01:06] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, I know![00:01:08] Kent Rader: I'm not a very good accountant. Okay. We probably ouught to clarify that, but yeah.[00:01:17]Lindsey Dinneen: Well, I'm sure this will come out a little bit more in your story because this is one of the things that I think is so great about just how you have changed careers and kind of developed into who you are today and all of that. But, Kent, do you mind just sharing a little bit about your background? [00:01:34] Kent Rader: Yeah, not at all. I went to William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and graduated, went into accounting 'cause that was, you know, I needed a job and did it for 17 years and I was, I just, you know, it was a job and that's all it was. And, but I was fortunate. I went, I went back into public accounting at a time when home care agencies were really changing their payment mechanism for Medicare and they needed to know how to do a budget, needed to know how to read a financial statement. And so I was asked by all these home care associations around the country to do programs on it.[00:02:09] And it was so dry. I mean, talking about double entry accounting and how it flows into it. And so I started telling stories and the audiences laughed and I thought, I just love that. And so, we got to a point to where I knew I was going to have to do something different. And I told my wife, I was on the verge of becoming a partner in the accounting firm, and I was offered it one day and I came home and I said to Twyla--my wife Twyla--I said, "I just don't want it." And she said, "What do you want to do?" And I said, "I want to be a speaker." And she said, "Then be a speaker." And I said, "You know, we may be passing up a fortune and I'll never, and it's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."[00:02:49] She said, "Your happiness is more important than all the money you'll ever make. So I started being a speaker and I was teaching, I did some financial programs, but then I really had an interest in health. I'd run my entire life and I had a lot of interest in stress. And so I developed a program on how to reduce stress and wrote a book called, "Let It Go, Just Let It Go" on reducing stress, but then it really evolved into how humor helps us reduce stress. And I thought, "Well, I want to get more funny." So I started going to an open mic night to comedy clubs, which was, that was the extent, Lindsey, of, of my idea was "Okay, I'll do open mic nights and learn how to write and learn how to be funnier." And, it takes years to do that.[00:03:34] And so by the time I finally thought had a handle on it. I'm headlining clubs and I started working in theaters, just doing standup. And so my career really evolved into 50/50 speaking at conferences, mostly for healthcare and education associations, and the other half doing live shows of just stand-up comedy in theaters. And because I worked clean, I could take all the material from my standup and move it right into speaking. It was appropriate, and it's been a long... as the Grateful Dead said, a long, strange trip. So.[00:04:11]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And I would love to touch on something because you do talk a lot about the fact that you are the world's cleanest comedian. And so what does that mean to you?  I'm sure there's an intention behind it. So do you mind just sharing sort of what got you to that point?[00:04:27] Kent Rader: Not at all. And my original thought was I needed to be clean because the material I was writing I wanted to move into the speaking and you had to be super clean to be, you have to be super clean to be a speaker, but quite by accident I realized that you'd never really find what's truly funny unless you work clean. And, and Chris Rock, who I've known for a long time, he came up to me two or three years ago. And he said, "You know, I talk about you and Vic Henley"--who unfortunately just passed away this year--he said, "because I tell people, work on the material and make it clean. 'Cause you don't know what's truly funny unless it's clean and then you can dirty it up later if you want to."[00:05:05] Well, I've never really wanted to dirty it up, so I just kept it clean.  I have nothing against profanity, as you know, from being my friend, I swear like a sailor when we're not in a different venue, but I don't want profanity to be the punchline, you know? And that, that's the thing that people don't understand about  Dave Chappelle or Carlin. You could have taken out every profane word and the material was still funny. And too many comedians today think, "Oh, all I have to do is swear or talk about sex on stage. And, and it'll be funny." I mean, yeah, you'll get a laugh, but it isn't truly funny. You know, if you take all that out, what do you have? You still have to, in my opinion, you still have to have some content.[00:05:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I love that because like you said, that's made your stories very easily transferable to many different opportunities that you've had to speak and things. So it's not like you have to reinvent the wheel every time, you know?[00:06:01] Kent Rader: Right. And we talk about, about artists--too many comedians have-- and I think we've talked about this personally--too many comedians have a... they have a mindset of poverty. You know, I, I can't make a lot of money or I'm not an artist and that's just not true. You have to find a venue where you can make a better wage or living wage, if you will. You don't have to live with poverty to do it. And so one of the ways that you can do it in comedy is to be clean because people will pay higher ticket prices to come see a clean show. They will, you can be on television without having to change anything you do. Network television, I should say. And, and you'll find out--Jim Gaffigan's a great example.  Jim has always worked clean, and I've known Jim for awhile too. He's a great example of someone who's, who's reached a pinnacle because he's working clean.[00:06:57] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, he's fantastic. And it's, it's nice, especially for those of us who don't necessarily want to hear all those, what feels like it becomes kind of gratuitous instead of just the material that is funny, like you said, on its own, and it doesn't need that. So.[00:07:16] Kent Rader: Exactly.[00:07:16] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, no, that's great. Well, and speaking of sort of the money aspect of it, I've chatted with a couple of artists, especially people that maybe are painters or things like that, but  did you ever have a difficult time putting a price on your art, per se? 'Cause I know that that's a common theme of, well, I've been doing this my whole life and it doesn't feel like I should charge this much.  How do you navigate that?[00:07:42] Kent Rader: How I navigated it was looking at what other people in my world, other performers, what they were charging. And I remember, you know, the first time I asked for a certain dollar amount, a friend of mine, Mark LeBlanc, said ask for $500 more than you're comfortable as far as the speaking engagement goes, ask for $500 more than you're comfortable with asking. I would have a dollar amount and at some point I'd screw up my courage and ask for $500 more than and they would either accept it or reject it. But most of the time they just accepted it. And so I built my fees up in that regard, but first by looking at what people were charging, and then kinda as I looked at the speakers, you know, very few were as funny as I was, because very few had taken the pains to go to comedy clubs and do a midnight show and go through all of that in order to learn how to be funny.[00:08:39] I mean, they may have a two-minute set up and one joke, and mine are, you know, seven, eight, 10 jokes a minute. And so that that's how I developed that. I think getting out of your comfort of what you're asking for is a huge, a huge part. And once you receive that money, now you begin to get comfortable with that money. And at some point as you improve, you say, okay, I want to ask for a little bit more and you know, maybe 10% or 20%. And once when somebody accepts that it becomes the norm, you know. But you, you have a skill and it's not a skill like in accounting, but I mean the way you can perform with your body as a dancer, is something that I will never be able to do, and watching the beauty of that, and I should pay to see the beauty of that.[00:09:37] And so, yeah, I think find what other people in your level are charging and then start working your fees up. And, and of course, after, after this, after the COVID is over, I don't know that we'll have any idea what fees will be. We'll deal with that. Then we may have to start over, who knows, but we'll deal with that then. But yeah, that's how I did it. And of course I'm an accountant, so you know, that, that  made perfect sense to me. I mean, I have a friend out in Kansas who, she's a wonderful speaker and she will not charge, she will not charge what she's worth. I mean, she brings home for speaking engagement and just as much headache of traveling as I have, and she'll bring home, you know, 25% of what I'm making, and it's because she doesn't see the value in what she's delivering to these people, and she has tremendous value. And you have a skill that a whole lot of people can't do, or if they could, we'd have a whole lot more people in the arts that we don't and, and you need to be paid for.[00:10:46]Lindsey Dinneen: Amen. I hope everyone listening heard all of that. Because there is so much value to the arts and, you know, and obviously those who have listened to this podcast for a while, kind of know my stance on it and how much I know that the arts can have such a, such a beautiful impact on people's lives and on culture and, and, and the change that it can bring in. So. But the, the people that create that, they are providing something of value. And so, yeah, getting paid for that is important.[00:11:22] Kent Rader: And there is no reward for being a starving artist. There is nothing of merit about being a starving artist. I mean, our, our daughter, Maggie is, you know, is a Shakespearian actress, and yet she has more money in the bank most of the time than I have because she's good with money, but she makes people pay her for her art. And her husband, Justin, is good too, because he makes people pay him for his art. He's also a performer.  And, you know, if Shakespeare were easy to do, we would all do it and read it, you know, but when, when Shakespeare play that Maggie does you understand it as well as you would understand a movie or a play that was written today because she understands what Shakespeare wanted to do. And she understands the rhythm and the rhyme of Shakespeare. And it's beautiful. I have a joke about her being a Shakespearian actress and I cite two Shakespeare lines in that joke. And she one day corrected me on how to say it. And when she did that line I had been saying for two or three years made all the sense in the world, and she said, you pause here. And I thought, "Oh yeah, that makes sense 'cause I just run it all together." I knew the words, but I didn't know. I wasn't portraying the meaning of it. [00:12:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, absolutely. Well, and I think that speaks to your due diligence. Something that I've really admired about learning about how you work, and that is-- I'll let you explain it more-- but one of the things that I've been impressed with is that when Kent does a show, he doesn't just say, "Okay, wahoo!" And then go party afterwards. He, as he'll share, goes back to his hotel room or back home and starts reviewing what he did, what worked, what didn't, tweaking things. So he is a true professional in that he's constantly also working on his art. He's not just satisfied with where he is. Does that, is that correct?[00:13:29] Kent Rader: It is. And, and the one thing I do--that probably even most comedians don't do--I write every day. I don't write productively every day. A lot of it's junk, you know, but I do, I have a time every day where I spend two to three hours just writing and then the process I have, which has been interrupted with the COVID, is once I have something written, I take it into a comedy club usually just doing a guest set. So I do 10 minutes, you know, walk in and do 10 minutes with the show and, or I still do four or five weeks a year in comedy clubs where I can do an hour set and string some of that newer material together. I do it. I record it. I take it, like you say, back to my hotel room and I listen to it.[00:14:14] I see what works and what doesn't work. And then the next morning when I'm writing, I rework the stuff that isn't working, take it back into the comedy club, work on it or record it that night, take it back to the hotel, listen to it, rewrite it.[00:14:29] After World War II a guy named W. Deming went to Japan to rebuild the Japanese economy, and he had developed something called the Circle of Continuous Quality Improvement. And basically it's a circle that you have an idea, you implement the idea, you put it into your product. Then you ask your customer how they like it and whatever they don't like, you go back to the idea, you improve it, you change the product, you ask the customer again, how do you like it? And that's how Toyota and Honda became two of the biggest auto makers in the world is that back when I was a kid, Toyotas had a connotation of being a junky car, but they kept improving it all over those years. And now they have some of the best quality cars in the world. And so that's what, that was the idea with mine is that you improve it every night.[00:15:22] And it's never done.  My wife is an art teacher and she said that is the sign of a true artist. You are never happy with it. You know, it is never done. I just really rewrote something I've been doing for 16 or 17 years, rewrote the line, took two words out and it, and it's hard to do because I've got it in my memory in a different way, but it works better. So you're constantly improving the material, constantly improving the product. And too many people, too many comedians ,get an hour of material and then quit writing, you know?[00:15:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah.[00:15:57] Kent Rader: I don't know how they do this because you could be better. You could, you could do better.[00:16:02] Lindsey Dinneen: Right. Yeah. Well, I think that's something that I've always personally loved about my art form in particular, but all art forms are like this, of there's no way to reach a level of perfection. So you have to continue. You know, it's just not a thing, you can't. And so you just keep striving for excellence and you keep honing your technique and, you know, that means going and making yourself do the technique class by yourself, in your garage. That's me right now, you know, just otherwise you, you are stagnant.[00:16:39]Kent Rader: Your art you're passionate about, and I'm passionate about mine and it is, it is a passion. And so it's not work to me. You know, I, I love the idea that I have two hours or three hours to write. And, the Saturday shows are hard for me because I've usually had a Friday show. And I've traveled after the show to a new hotel and I get in at two or three in the morning, so I sleep there and then I get up and I, I need to run and I need to work. I need to write and I need to get to another show. And, that cuts into my writing time. And I miss that, you know, I miss it. I spend a lot of time backstage once I get to a show and do the soundcheck, I spend another hour writing before it. So it's a, it's it's part of my life and it's an important part about it. It is a big part of my life.[00:17:30]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And so to that point, I'm just curious, because since you're constantly working and reworking and all those kinds of things, has there ever been a time where you've had this show memorized and then you're working on something else, do you ever kind of get off flow that way of thinking about the new material?[00:17:48] Kent Rader: Yeah,  I can leave out whole segments of a story, because when you do new material,  you sandwich it in between two pieces you know that work. You know, so you've got this story that you've been doing for five years. It works great. You got another story that you've been doing for seven years. It worked great. So take the new piece and stick it in between the two, because you know, there are only two or three minutes. If I lose the audience, I know I'm going to get them back with the next story. So it's fine, but I can be so focused on that new thing, that the piece in front of it, I can leave out half of it, you know? Because my mind is not there. My mind is on the new, new material. And so Twyla will listen to a recording and she'll go, "Oh my gosh, he left out two whole minutes." I go, "Yeah, I know." It's an odd thing in my mind, what I'm doing . But the audience probably doesn't know that.[00:18:39] One time I had to do a show and they were, had a dinner in front of it and they were struggling to get the dinner served. And the lady said, "You know, we've got stuff after you. And, and so we're going to have to go on." And eating and comedy don't work well together. And so, I said, "OK, it's your show." And they're still eating, so they're not listening. And then after they quit eating, I get them back. And there's a 45 minute show, probably. So 20 minutes of it, they're still eating. And so it's struggles, you know, and then the last 25 minutes everything's great. And she comes up to me and she tells me what a great show it was. I go, "Are you kidding me? You have no idea how good this show could have been had they not been eating." You know?[00:19:22] No, that was just, that's back to me. You know, it's like, you know, it could be a lot better, but back to being paid, you have to do what the person who's paying you. And that's why you're a professional. You know, you have to be able to overcome all of those things that the person who's paying you, the obstacles they throw in front of you... You know, one things I hate to do is take an intermission in a show, because comedy builds on itself, and you have to, it's like starting all over, but I understand that theaters need the revenue from the drinks to survive. And so I'll take an intermission and how I did it was I built a second opening three minutes. So it's like I'm starting all over with a new opening and it work. I don't enjoy it, but the theater and the audience do.[00:20:11] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, and back to Twyla, because I know that she has always been obviously very supportive of what you do, and I think that's incredible, but I just have to ask: so when you run new material by her, is she like your greatest advocate, and just like laughs because she's so supportive, or is she also your greatest critic and says, "Yeah, that's silly."[00:20:33] Kent Rader: She's my greatest critic and I mean that... she and Maggie will tell me the truth. Okay. That's what I need. Everything I write is the greatest thing ever written according to my mother, you know, and that feels good. Because your mother should support you that way, but that's not what helps me. Twyla laughs at -- it's funny-- she laughs at very little at what I say. You know, now she'll laugh at a show because she's with the audience. But when she does laugh at something, then I have to keep it in there. Oh, Stephen King wrote a book called "On Writing," and it's about his process of writing. And he said he had an ideal reader, which is his wife, who is a poet and that's who he writes for. And that's who I write for.  I write to make Twyla laugh.[00:21:22] And if Twyla laughs at it, and Maggie thinks it's good, then I'm good with it. I had a bit about Maggie when she was in high school, and I run everything past my family if it's about them, I run it all past them to ask them if it's okay. 'Cause I wouldn't want to hurt somebody. I wouldn't want to hurt my loved one's feelings for something I've, you know, for a joke. I wrote something about, about Maggie when she was a senior in high school, and she said, "You know, you're fine to do it. It doesn't bother me, but it's not funny." And I thought, "Oh, she's just saying that, you know, she's 18." And so I did it for every night for a month and it tanked every night. And I finally admited to her, "You're right. It isn't funny."[00:22:05] No, but I wrote something the other day and I wrote up a little piece about this woman that spoke at one of the conventions. And she, she said she believed that every household should have one vote in the election. And her quote was, "In a godly household, the man would have the final say." Which is something I completely disagreed with. And my joke is, "I think her husband ought to tell her to shut up." And I thought, and I thought that was way over the line, okay. I said it to Twyla and she laughed out loud and I had to, and I made a comment. So don't blame me. I, I just thought of it, Twyla's the one who laughed, you know? And so it's her fault that it's here. She's a critic in the good way. And Maggie is as well. But I need that. I need that honesty from them and it comes from a place of, they want the best for me. You know, my son Keith is not critical of me. And I think he was afraid he would hurt my feelings. Now he will, and he would speak up if it was something really, really bad. Maggie will tell me the truth and Twyla will tell me the truth and that's what I need.[00:23:14]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, so I'm curious, are there any particular stories that come to mind as far as maybe of your own experience as a comedian, something that happened that comes to mind as being either meaningful or funny or, or whatever? Or from your own perspective of having viewed other art or anything that just like really stands out to you as far as, you know, an interaction with art essentially.[00:23:40] Kent Rader: Like I said, my wife is an art teacher and, so she, she appreciates visual art much more than I do. And that's what I love about your, I cannot fathom how you write a dance. And be able to visualize that in your head of the movement. And I can't understand, I have no concept of how someone takes a landscape or a picture or an idea of somebody's face and then can put that onto a canvas, but Twyla can. And so she loved Georgia O'Keeffe, and we'd go to New Mexico and they have a Georgia O'Keeffe museum. And one, I remember Georgia O'Keeffe said, let's see... "To create one's own world in the arts takes a lot of courage." And I thought that's what it really took for me was a lot of courage to leave a steady job.[00:24:32] And I would never have known that had I not been with Twyla and tried to understand the visual arts of painting and pottery. I love the movement of your art, even though if you've seen me perform, I stand there. I don't move, you know? But one of the things that, that I was, I wrote, let's see, I did a thing about... oh, I know... I did a thing about our grandson playing video games. And so when I perform it on stage, I have my head down and I'm put my thumbs together and I'm punching my thumbs, like a kid playing a video game. And so every time I talk, I'm standing there and then every time I'm having Kai talk, I've got my head down, punching a video games and Maggie saw me on TV one time and said, "Where did you learn about anchoring?"[00:25:29] And I'll go "Anchoring? I don't know anything about anchoring." And she goes, "Oh, that's something that Shakespeare had developed 400 years ago." Was that you? I anchored the character because every time I've got my head down and doing my thumbs, I don't have to say "Kai said this." I just say it because the audience understands why I'm standing there. And so, you know, it's amazing that I came up with an idea that Shakespeare came up with 400 years ago, you know, and she told me all the ways you can anchor. It's through speech or voice or gesture or whatever. And so, I mean, Keith Richards says there's only like 12 songs in the world. Everything else is a offshoot of those 12. And it's amazing though, how we, how we learn sometimes on our own and sometimes from other artists about things. Or the perfection thing I learned quite from, from Twyla talking about that so many artists painters, especially where they've found works after they were dead, that were never finished because their art is never finished.[00:26:37]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Excellent.[00:26:39] Kent Rader: I rambled on.[00:26:42] Lindsey Dinneen: No, no, I love it. And I think that it's interesting because you have a unique background and perspective. And then with having Twyla have bringing in all of her art and then your daughter and son-in-law with their art. And it's just, you've got such a rich atmosphere to work from. And that's really cool.[00:27:03] Kent Rader: It is. And I think that that when you have artists, when you are around artists, you learn from them and you're encouraged by them as well, and you're supported by them. That's one of the things I loved about last year's Fringe Festival was you guys came and saw me and I went and saw you. And I, I love that, that we were supportive enough of each other. And I don't understand your, I mean, I could never do your art. I, one of the musicians did a thing of all new songs and it was beautiful. And it was a beautiful setting and it was beautiful music. And I thought I couldn't do that if, in a thousand years, but I enjoyed it. And I learned from it, I learned from the process. So yeah.  I think it's important we support each other.[00:27:52]Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, I absolutely agree. That's something that I've always really appreciated about the Fringe Festival is the atmosphere of we're all in this together and we're just manifesting in different ways essentially. But, I mean, I had a great time. I went to go see Kent and had a great time at his show and then he came to support my show, but we, we all kind of support each other within the community, which is really amazing. And I think that it helps, maybe indirectly, but it helps our own art forms when we can watch and absorb the things that, you know, another artist does so well and you think, "Oh, I wonder how I could utilize that somehow." Or, or for you, maybe you're getting new material because you're watching something, and then that sparks an idea. And, so every little interaction that you have with art can be really impactful in a different way.[00:28:45] Kent Rader: Right. Well, I'm glad you said that because one of the things that every writer and I think probably, I don't know, I'm sure every comedian--we have thousands of little post-it notes everywhere of ideas, you know? And, and when you go see, I always have a notebook with me and a pen, even when I walk or when I am at a show, because that sparks an idea and you think you'll remember it, but you won't. So write it down. And then come back and use it in your own creation. And I, and that has been important. And a lot of mine is junk. I had a post-it note on my car dashboard. And Twyla saw it the other day and she goes, "What does that mean?" And I thought, "Well, I'm not really sure anymore." It was a great idea when I came up with it. I didn't make it detailed enough, I guess.[00:29:42] Lindsey Dinneen: Right, right! Oh my word. But yes, I think that happens to all of us. Well, It's funny because I have a personal antidote of being on the receiving end of this. So, last year after Kent came and saw our production, we ended up being able to connect and get together and actually start forming a friendship, and the first, the first day he brought his--was it your program that you had written all over?--or maybe it was a note, but anyway, I was peppered with questions and I loved it because it was so fun to get to share a little bit more about the process and, and just sort of talk to each other about, "Oh yeah! What do you think about this?" And, but yeah, the notebook is real, folks.[00:30:31] Kent Rader: I'm fascinated with how people write or create, I guess, more importantly. And, and so when I see a show, I was fascinated how you see that. Or do you see, you know, do you see that? Or do you, 'cause I'm so much verbal and all mine is, is in words, but occasionally I will see a movement that I want to do. But not, not an hour, not an hour of total movement of 30 people, so yeah. And how does someone, how does someone come up with that? You know, my brain doesn't work that way.  Thank goodness your brain works that way 'cause it was beautiful.[00:31:15] Lindsey Dinneen: Right. But my brain doesn't work the same way yours does to create your art. So you know, it's all good.[00:31:21] Kent Rader: Yeah. But we can appreciate other art as well.[00:31:27] Lindsey Dinneen: Right, right, exactly. Well, Kent, I have a couple of questions that I always like to ask my guests if you're game for that.   The first is how do you personally define art or what is art to you?[00:31:40] Kent Rader: Art, art to me is something that you created that is unique to you. And there's a difference in my mind between art and success. Too many people want to be successful, so they recreate something somebody else has created or they mimic something else that somebody else has created. And that isn't art to me. Success, I mean, how do you define success? You know, it's more important that it's unique and that it's personal to me.  And I remember a turning point in my life as an artist was stop making it about your success and make it about bringing joy and happiness to an audience.  That was a huge turning point, but also it had to be so personal and so come from me. I want it to be so much about my life that nobody else could make it theirs, but they could relate to it as well.[00:32:48]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, what do you think is the most important role of an artist?[00:32:54]Kent Rader: I think to bring joy and happiness and a different end, to bring a different perspective, but especially today, we have a lot of difficulty in the world and if we can help someone through that, that's what I think we should be doing.[00:33:09]Lindsey Dinneen: I wholeheartedly agree. Okay. And then my final question, and I'll define my terms a little bit, but do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive? And what I mean by that is inclusive meaning that the artist shares a little bit about what inspired the art, whether it's a backstory or a title or program notes or something to give a little bit of context to what they're putting out in the world. Versus exclusive referring to an artist creating something and sharing it with the world, but not providing any background. So it's solely up to the participant or viewer to come up with their own interpretation.[00:33:57] Kent Rader: Well, I, I would say inclusive. I can see both points of view, because if you were exclusive, you would want that part, you would want to give them what you've created and let it be theirs then. I find great joy in understanding what went into that. And I think that's probably why I peppered you with all these questions.  I wanted to know what went into that. I'm not a big Eric Clapton fan. But I saw a documentary and how he came up with what "Layla," what the song "Layla" meant to him. He was in love and the woman was married and didn't, you know, it's a difficult situation. And once I heard that, I fell in love with the song, "Layla," you know, and when I hear what went into this piece of art, Maggie's working on something that Charles Dickens wrote and a remake of "Great Expectations." And when she told me what Charles Dickens was going through, "Great Expectations" had a whole different meaning to me than what it had when I read it 30 years ago. And so I think for me, I want people to know what went into that. So yeah, definitely inclusive for me, but I can see both sides of both viewpoints.[00:35:20] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Yeah. And I love asking all these questions, because like art, it's all subjective and it it's completely up to the person, you know? And I think that's such a valuable thing about art is that there's lots of avenues to enjoy it. [00:35:34] Kent Rader: Right. Yeah, without a doubt.[00:35:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Well, we don't all have to agree, you know, that's okay.[00:35:41] Kent Rader: If we all agreed, what good is art?[00:35:44]Lindsey Dinneen:  There you go. I once heard that-- and I'm going to blank on his name, but he's an author--and he said that if he doesn't get at least 10% bad reviews of the works that he creates, he feels like he's not been true to himself because if you're everything to everybody, then that's not being honest with who you are. And I really love that.[00:36:04] Kent Rader: Right. You know, I have people come to the show, don't enjoymy shows, and that's okay because I'm not for everybody.  Yeah, there are comedians that I don't enjoy, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be artists and they shouldn't be comedians.[00:36:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, well, Kent, first of all, thank you so very much for joining me and for being on the podcast. I really appreciate your time. I would love, you know, if people could connect with you or see some of your work. I know you have lots of avenues for that. Are there some good ways for any of our listeners to connect with you?[00:36:39] Kent Rader: Yeah, the best way is probably through my website, kentraderspeaks.com. And I do a daily thing on Amazon called "Laughter Matters," which is just a one to two minute piece on something funny that hopefully bring everybody a laugh and so you can look it up on Amazon, on their Daily Flash Briefing. It's called "Laughter Matters." So both of those are great ways. And then, if you go to kentraderspeaks.com, when we get back to performing live, we'll have dates on there as well.[00:37:06]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And you have some clips and things like that too on your website?[00:37:11] Kent Rader: There are, they're on the website. And there's a YouTube channel Comedian Kent Rader that you can see them as well.[00:37:16]Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Well, thank you again so much, and thank you for being brave and for having taken that big leap of faith, back in the day, so to speak and, and then continuing to  hone and craft your art. I think that you do bring your audiences a lot of joy. I'm privileged to have seen, I think a couple shows now, but I just really appreciate you. And, so, so thank you. Thank you for sharing art with the world.[00:37:43] Kent Rader: Thank you. And the other thing about art is it takes awhile. Don't give up on it. You know, I mean it takes years and that's okay. No matter how long it takes us to do it, it's good. But thank you. Thank you for having me. Like I said, you're always a joy to be around.[00:37:59] Lindsey Dinneen: Thanks! Well, and folks, thank you so much for listening too, and if you have a story to share with us, we'd love to hear that, but also, just if you are as inspired as I am after listening to this episode, I'd love if you'd share with a friend or two and we will catch you next time.[00:38:22] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

Mark LeBlanc, CSP runs a speaking business in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations and creates experiences for professionals who want to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in their pocket as a business owner. As a business coach, he has clocked over twenty thousand (one to one) coaching hours with professionals who want to grow their business or practice. In fact, he wrote the book, Growing Your Business! As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused each day, attract more prospects, stimulate more referrals and create a path for generating more business. On a personal note, next Summer, he will go on a short, five-hundred-mile walk across Spain – for the fourth time! https://www.markleblanc.com/ If you like what you have heard from Mark on this interview, I would encourage you to go to his web site and watch a 45-minute, luncheon speech Mark gave on how to have your best year ever!   Check out Mark's electronic version of his book, Growing Your Business! www.growingyourbusiness.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Judy's guest Mark LeBlanc https://www.markleblanc.com/ gives the Magic Formula on the “Productization of Purpose” in order to make a living doing what you love and shows how sometimes you have to do what you hate to do what you love. To learn more about Judy Carter go to: https://judycarter.com/ To learn more about Judy's programs go to: https://themessageofyou.com/ Join us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/761037607301720/

Judy's guest Mark LeBlanc https://www.markleblanc.com/ gives the Magic Formula on the “Productization of Purpose” in order to make a living doing what you love and shows how sometimes you have to do what you hate to do what you love. To learn more about Judy Carter go to: http://judycarter.com/ To learn more about Judy's programs go to: https://themessageofyou.com/ Join us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/761037607301720/

Mark LeBlanc, CSP has been on his own virtually his entire, adult life. He once had a job for six months and was inspired by the two words, “You're fired!” At the ripe, young age of 21, he vowed he would do whatever it would take to make it on his own. And he has. He will celebrate his 36th anniversary in business this year! He has experienced the good, bad, ugly and great of being his own boss. He runs a speaking business based in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations (over one thousand) on how to create an extreme sliver of focus and put more money in your pocket as a business owner. His keynote speech titled Never Be the Same is a catalyst for how consistency plays a vital role in achieving in times of challenge and change. While he shares unique insights and ideas on commitment, his reveal on resolve will change the way your people take action for the rest of their lives.  Mark has published or co-authored four books, including his first book, Growing Your Business which became an underground bestseller and boasts over 800 quantity orders of fifty copies of more. Other books include: Never Be the Same, Build Your Consulting Practice and Defining YOU.   SHOW NOTES: Whether you are in a middle of a pandemic or just stuck in your business, here are some benefits of creating something new whether it is a new product or service for your business: It infuses you with a new degree of energy It creates a reason for you to meet and make new prospects It gives you a reason to reach out to you current and past client   REFERENCE: Selling the dream by Guy Kawasaki Growing Your Business! By Mark LeBlanc Never Be the Same by Mark LeBlanc Defining You: How Smart Professionals Craft the Answers to: Who Are You? What Do You Do? How Can You Help Me? By Mark LeBlanc, Kathy McAfee and Henry DeVries Build Your Consulting Practice: How Independent Consultants Deliver Value to Clients and Grow Their Business by Marc LeBlanc and Henry Devries For more info you and any queries you can go to www.markleblanc.com for his contact details. Also, below are the scheduled dates for his virtual Achievers Circle event: September 25-27th, 2020 November 20-22nd, 2020 January 29-31st, 2021 March 12-14th, 2021  April 30th-May 2nd, 2021   DINO'S BIO: Dino Watt is a dynamic, highly sought after keynote speaker, private practice business advisor, best selling author, and certified body language and communication expert. As a business relationship expert, Dino understands that people are the heart of any business. His interactive training style will bring your audience to roaring laughter and move them to tears. Whether he is training on C.O.R.E Culture, Sales and Sales Support, or Making love and business work, your audience will rave about Dino and the energy he brings to every event. Dino has spoken for MKS, American Association of Orthodontists, PCSO, Pitts Progressive Study Group, The Shulman Study Club, Keller Williams, Sotheby's, DentalTown, Ortho2, OrthoVoice, and many others. Out of all the accolades Dino has received, the one he is proudest of is title of PHD, Passionate Husband and Dad. Dino has been married to his wife Shannon for 24 years and together they have raised 3 amazing adults.

Joining the conversation on the [CLIC] Podcast is Mark LeBlanc of Aimbridge Hospitality the largest 3rd Party Management Company Globally. If you would like to be on the [CLIC] Podcast contact us at info@cliconference.com. Thank you....

As we find ourselves in an uncertain and unknown climate, businesses are having to rethink how they operate and move forward. This clearly applies to the organizing industry too and today we have an amazing guest with us to talk about how your business can not only survive the crisis but more forward and adapt to the different opportunities it presents. Mark LeBlanc's main message is one of consistency and focus; he believes that through a steadfast, yet adaptable approach to your offers and sales you can grow in the best way, crisis or no crisis

Mark LeBlanc is a past president of the National Speakers Association. He is author of Growing Your Business, Defining You, and also Never Be the Same. Here he describes the three, five-hundred mile pilgrimages he made along the Camino de Santiago, starting in France and walking through Spain. The journey can be described in terms … Continue reading "Spiritual Pilgrimage with Mark LeBlanc"

Mark LeBlanc is the author of Growing Your Business and Never Be the Same. He is a past president of the National Speakers Association and has clocked over twenty thousand 1:1 hours as a business coach. As a result of his work, people often share they are more focused daily, generate undeniable momentum and create a path for more business. On a personal note, in 2021 he will go on a short, five hundred mile walk across Spain – for the fourth time! For more information on Mark, see his site at: www.MarkLeBlanc.com How to zero in on what matters most, How to invest nine minutes each day for on-track performance, How to find more balance between work and home, and How to create a set of marching orders for progress.

In this podcast, we’re talking with Mark LeBlanc, a certified speaking professional that has clocked over twenty thousand hours of one on one business coaching. His Achievers Circle anti-boot camp is renowned for it’s uniqueness and he will conduct his 150th weekend business retreat in April. It will be delivered virtually for the [...] The post Growing Your Business When YOU Are The Business appeared first on AuthorExpertWire Podcast.

We're excited about our special guest, Mark LeBlanc, who's here today to share his approach, mindset and tactics about staying in gear despite the coronavirus pandemic. Mark is a national speaker, coach, author and three-time Camino de Santiago pilgrim who has over 38 years of business development experience to share with us. Starting when he was inspired by the words “You're Fired” at age 21, Mark has now been selling and succeeding in second gear for his entire life. Mark will be sharing with us the details of how he does it and simple ways that all of you can stay in gear and achieve great outcomes, especially during the coronavirus challenge. The Impact Leadership Podcast is brought to you by Cardivera, the leadership development ecosystem that helps your grow your people, grow your business and grow your life. Show Notes In this episode you'll learn … Why there's never been a better time to be on your own, even now with the coronavirus. Why consistency beats commitment and is the key to success. Why the secret to sales success is staying in gear (even if only second gear). The three tracks of every business and why they matter. Specific strategies to help you not only survive, but thrive through the coronavirus pandemic. Mark's vital business and life lesson from his most recent 500 mile journey on the Camino de Santiago … RESOLVE! Resources The Lean Start Up by Eric Ries 2010 IBM Global CEO Study Mastering the Complex Sale by Jeff Thull Selling the Dream by Guy Kawasaki Mark LeBlanc The Impact Leadership Podcast Cardivera - The Leadership Development Ecosystem

We're excited to have Mark LeBlanc back as our special guest for another coronavirus special episode. Mark is a national speaker, coach, author and three-time Camino de Santiago pilgrim who has over 38 years of business development experience to share with us. Today, Mark is sharing with us more ideas on staying in gear despite the coronavirus pandemic. Mark will be answering the question of what's the best strategy to navigate through these difficult times. Mark will be sharing with us the details of how he does it and simple ways that all of you can stay in gear and achieve great outcomes, especially during the coronavirus challenge. The Impact Leadership Podcast is brought to you by Cardivera, the leadership development eco-system that helps your grow your people, grow your business and grow your life. Show Notes In this episode you'll learn … Mark's best practices and mindsets for approaching uncertain Ways to be creative by asking Mark's million dollar question The ways that Mark not only financially survived 9/11 and the 2008 financial meltdown, had two of his best six month periods ever during those times. The secret sauce for Mark's long running anti-boot camp business retreat (he's facilitating his 150th retreat in April 2020. Simple shifts in sales thinking and action to make the next twelve months your best ever. Resources Mark LeBlanc or mark@growingyourbusiness.com The Impact Leadership Podcast Cardivera

In this podcast, we’re talking with Mark LeBlanc, a certified speaking professional that has clocked over twenty thousand hours of one on one business coaching. His Achievers Circle anti-boot camp is renowned for it’s uniqueness and he will conduct his 150th weekend business retreat in April. It will be delivered virtually for the [...] The post Growing Your Business When YOU Are The Business appeared first on AuthorExpertWire Podcast.

Dave Small is with the Ray of Hope soup kitchen in Moncton. Mark LeBlanc runs Vestiaire St Joseph in Shediac.

Our guest this week is Leadville 100 Trail Run finisher Jason Cohen. You may recall our mention of the Heavy as Lead documentary of Jason. You are about to hear his journey to transform himself from a body weight of nearly 300lbs to the fighting weight of an ultramarathoner. Thanks to last weekend's guest, CEO and Co-Founder of Precision Hydration, Andy Blow. You can listen to the interview on episode #213 or you can read it in the Blog Thanks also to ultramarathoner Samantha Gash and her reporting on what is happening with the devastating brushfires in Australia. You can listen to the interview on episode #214.   Sponsor - iKOR Labs: iKOR is the CBD that I use to protect my body from the stress from hard training sessions. I helps me recover fast and maintain a positive mental state. The daily shot is great to help get a great night's sleep and the recovery shot is awesome after hard efforts. Don't let the competition recover better than you. Save 20% by using the code "MHE2020" at checkout. Go to www.ikorlabs.com for more details.   Announcements: If you get your podcasts on Deezer, iHeartRadio, Radio.com, Radio Public, Spotify and WebPlayer - we're there too. Go to MileHighEndurancePodcast.com, click on the "subscribe" button, and you will get the newsletter with show notes and all the links and articles sent to you automatically every week. If you love the show, please consider making a donation of any amount by clicking the PayPal donate button at the bottom of the Podcast page.   Sponsor - Halo Neuro: Our interview is sponsored by Halo Neuroscience. The Halo Sport from Halo Neuroscience will help you learn the technique and form to get faster. 20 minutes of neural priming with the Halo Headset gives you an hour of neural plasticity to work and lock in the muscle movement that leads to strength, power and endurance. Use the code "MHE" at checkout to save an additional $20. Interview with Jason Cohen: Jason Cohen Jason, at the age of 27, found himself looking at the number 297 on his bathroom scale. Jason resolved to never let that number touch 300 and has since lost over 120 pounds. His incredible journey has taken him through his battle with obesity and will now take him to the starting line of the Leadville Trail 100 Race on August 18th, 2018. This film documents Jason's story of losing the weight, becoming an athlete, and running the Leadville 100. Let's get into the interview now with Jason Cohen. Sponsor - Riplaces: One of my favorite products are Riplaces. This elastic lace system is the most comfortable, durable and clean-looking system you can lace into your shoes. If you want faster transitions (and security weight lines at the airport). Pro triathlete proven and endorsed. Get your MHE logo package. Use the code MHE25 to get that 25% discount. Go to MHE Sponsor Discounts page by going to www.milehighendurance.com, or directly to https://www.riplaces.com/collections/mile-high-endurance Train Informed: Last week we had Andy Blow talking about how to get a handle on your hydration plan and how unique each solution is for each athlete. If you recall Andy talked about the TrainingPeaks University course that's available. I took the course and picked up a couple of CPU credits along the way. I want to share a couple of things that I learned and that I think will emphasize the unique needs of each athlete. Question: How many sweat glands do you have? Answer: Depending on how big you are, you’ll have anywhere between 1.5 and 5 million sweat glands on your body.   Question: There are two types of sweat glands, what are there names? Answer: There are actually two main types: eccrine and apocrine   Question: What do they do? Answer: Your eccrine glands are the ‘classic’ sweat glands that produce most of the sweat you can see when you train. They are tiny, numerous and are found almost everywhere on the body, although they are most concentrated on the palms, soles and face. Apocrine glands, on the other hand, secrete a slightly different type of sweat into a hair follicle which then makes its way up to the skin’s surface. Because of this, apocrine glands are bigger and are only found in your armpits and a few other places where hair grows. They secrete a thicker solution that is largely to blame for the distinctive odor associated with sweating. TrainingPeaks University course, 'The Science of Endurance Hydration'   What's New in the 303? TrainingPeaks Announces Departure of Gear Fisher, Co-Founder and Chief Corporate Development Officer TrainingPeaks, a global leader in providing smart and effective digital training solutions for athletes and coaches, today announced Gear Fisher, Co-Founder and Chief Corporate Development Officer, will be leaving the company to launch a new video feedback and communication platform. Andy Stephens will continue his role as CEO of TrainingPeaks and parent company Peaksware.   Karen Hornbostel Time Trial Series; Special Deal for Triathletes     USA Triathlon and USA Cycling have been partnering more and more and now, partnering with the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado (BRAC), triathletes holding a current USAT membership are being offered a significant incentive to try the Karen Hornbostel Time Trial series (KHMTT). There is hardly a better way to prepare for the upcoming triathlon season then participating in these early season time trial races. Endurance News: Relief Run for Australia Wildfire Disaster Relief by Red Cross    Australia is burning and the effects of the recent bushfires has been widespread and devastating. Melbourne-based ultramarathon runner, Samantha Gash, and Nic Davidson have created a virtual Relief Run. Please register to the event via www.reliefrun.com.au. 100% of your $50AUD fee will go as a donation to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. Lets collectively use our footsteps to support those who have lost loved ones, their homes, and their critical needs in the face of disaster. Your run or walk can take place anywhere, at any time on the weekend of Saturday January 18th and Sunday January 19th 2020. There are 21.1km half marathon and 5km options for you to sign up for. We welcome runners of all abilities to join us for this important cause. While you can participate solo, some of us are choosing to rally together and are holding community Relief Run events around the world. We encourage you to share this event as wide as you can and register your own Club event. Many organised runs have been listed on www.reliefrun.com.au https://reliefrun.com.au/ Tim O'Donnell and Terrible Tuesday Workouts UCAN—specifically the company’s signature food product, SuperStarch. “SuperStarch is like a slow-drip IV, giving a constant, steady release of carbohydrates,” he says. O’Donnell also uses it during his training, especially on "Terrible Tuesdays." “When you’re finishing up running and hitting the water 35-45 minutes later, you need something quick in between that’s not going to give you that spike…it has to be energy that can get you through to the end of the session.” And O’Donnell will need all the energy he can when it comes to what he calls “Terrible Tuesday,” a hyperintensive mash-up of each triathlon discipline and a lifting session for good measure. “To prepare for an eight-hour race like the Ironman, you have to put your body in overload sometimes in training,” O’Donnell explains. “Honestly, I’ve found it’s better to do it all on one day like this, because when you do your intense biking, swimming and running sessions on different days, it becomes harder to recover and bounce back for the next one.” https://www.muscleandfitness.com/athletes-celebrities/pro-tips/how-top-us-triathlete-tim-o-donnell-prepares-ironman USA Triathlon Endurance Exchange https://www.enduranceexchange.com/event-schedule https://www.enduranceexchange.com/page/show/5472660-speakers https://www.enduranceexchange.com/page/show/5472658-session-descriptions Video of the Week: Heavy As Lead - From 300 Pounds to the Leadville 100 Heavy as Lead is the story of Jason Cohen, who went from 300lbs to just a short 7 years later found himself running the Leadville Trail 100. Jason, at the age of 27, found himself looking at the number 297 on his bathroom scale. Jason resolved to never let that number touch 300 and has since lost over 120 pounds. His incredible journey has taken him through his battle with obesity and took him to the starting line of the Leadville Trail 100 Race on August 18th, 2018. This film documents Jason's story of losing the weight, becoming an athlete, and running the Leadville 100. Jason was given the idea to tell his story by his good friend, Mark LeBlanc, who realized that Jason's story needed to be told to the world. Mark is co-creating Heavy as Lead with Jason and is the person behind the camera for much of the film. More information and contact information can be found at www.heavyaslead.com Heavy As Lead Documentary - From 300lbs to Running the Leadville 100 Upcoming Interviews: Jennifer Conroyd of Fluid Running is joining us to confirm that "aqua jogging" as we called it in the Tim O'Donnell interview is in fact the next big thing. Jennifer is an Ironman finisher and also a 15 time Boston Marathon qualifier.  She created Fluid Running after I got injured training for the Chicago Marathon in 2010.  Closing: Please support our affiliate brands that support the show and help you get faster! See the https://milehighendurancepodcast.com/sponsors page. Be sure to follow us on social media including @303endurance and @milehighendurancepodcast. Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!

A successful speaking business doesn't just happen, it's a culmination of hard work, dedication and consistently putting strategies in place to grow and flourish over time.  On this episode of The Wealthy Speaker Show, we are thrilled to welcome legendary speaker Mark LeBlanc. Mark runs a speaking business based in Minneapolis. He conducts presentations (over one thousand) on how creating an extreme sliver of focus can put more money in your pocket as a business […] The post Growing Your Speaking Business with Mark LeBlanc appeared first on Jane Atkinson.

Thanks for joining me for our last interview of the year. This week's guest is coach, author, host of the Whole Athlete Podcast, and Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist, Debbie Potts. We are going to be talking about health and longevity and some ideas for how to prioritize your own health and longevity. This is our last show of 2019 and the 2010s decade. As we prepared the content for this week, I was going through a personal process of reflecting on the previous year, taking stock of where I am on my journey, and re-imagining how I can become the best version of myself. Taking stock of my current self includes being honest with myself about the decisions, actions and behaviors that make me who I am today, and the decisions, actions and behaviors required to take me what I want to become. I'll share some of my process, insights and commitments I'm making for 2020 and beyond. Sponsor - iKOR Labs: Today's show is sponsored by iKOR Labs. iKOR is a clean, natural source of recovery enhancing CBD that protects your body from the stresses of training, improves recovery from intense efforts and helps you maintain a positive mental state. For a limited time (until It is the most bio-available CBD product on the market, iKOR is a protective anti-oxidant and highly effective anti-inflammatory. It is used by world class professional athletes. Save 20% by using the code "MHE2020" at checkout. You need to switch to "MHE2020" and not use endurance any longer. The next time you go to use endurance, it likely won't work. Please make a note of "MHE2020" Go to www.ikorlabs.com for more details.   Announcements: Go to MileHighEndurancePodcast.com, click on the "subscribe" button, and you will get the newsletter with show notes and all the links and articles sent to you automatically every week. If you love the show, please consider making a donation of any amount by clicking the PayPal donate button at the bottom of the Podcast page.   Sponsor - Halo Neuro: Our interview is sponsored by Halo Neuroscience. The Halo Sport from Halo Neuroscience will help you learn the technique and form to get faster. 20 minutes of neural priming with the Halo Headset gives you an hour of neural plasticity to work and lock in the muscle movement that leads to strength, power and endurance. Use the code "MHE" at checkout to save an additional $20. Interview with Debbie Potts: Debbie Potts has been in the fitness industry for over twenty-five years and a competitive endurance athlete for twenty years. Along her journey, she has accomplished many goals including being nominated as one of the top one hundred best trainers in the U.S. by Men's Journal in 2004 and 2005 as well as participating in fifteen Ironman Triathlons - five of them were the Hawaii World Ironman Championship. Debbie is the host of the Whole Athlete Podcast, author of the WHOLESTIC Method and Life and Life is Not A Race. She's also a recently certified Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist.   Let's get into the interview now with Debbie Potts.   Sponsor - Riplaces: Riplaces are an elastic lace system that integrates a bungee loop with a plastic core to connect the loop in each eyelet of your running shoe. The bungees come in 5 sizes to achieve custom tension for the perfect fit. The bungees and the cores come in a variety of colors and styles to help you personalize your set. Or, you can choose the MHE logo package. Pro triathlete proven and endorsed, use the code MHE25 to get that 25% discount. Go to www.riplaces.com for more information, or go to the MHE Sponsor Discounts page by going to www.milehighendurance.com, or directly to https://www.riplaces.com/collections/mile-high-endurance   Discussion: I've been thinking about what she said and the testing that is a part of FDN services. Having some real information about what's going on the inside that only testing can provide is really appeals to me. https://debbiepotts.net/fdn-health-detective/ Imagine that you could have perfect information about your health. Imaging you know exactly what was going to be your cause of death and when. If you knew it was an accident (the third leading cause of death according to the CDC https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm, you would avoid the scenario (activity, location or vehicle) that will lead to your accidental demise. Similarly, imagine if you had perfect information about the future and were certain that without any changes in your lifestyle, you will get a cancer diagnosis 5 years from today. If you were guaranteed you could extend that diagnosis 10, 20 or even 30 years by making changes that lead to that longevity, wouldn't you start today? Except it's not that easy, is it? We don't have that perfect information. We don't have crystal balls. There is no certainty that the changes we make today will translate to longevity of 5 days, 5 years or 15 years. Without that direct connection and certainty, it's hard to prioritize in the near term. That said, the best time to know that there's a problem is as early as possible. Regardless of your budget, my wish for you as look to the new year is that you are thoughtful about your health and make it a priority for the new decade of the 2020s. Whether you have the budget to work with someone like Debbie and can do all of the lab testing that Debbie referred to https://debbiepotts.net/get-started-on-your-2020-new-years-resolutions-now/, which will run you about $1500 in a 3 month coaching program plus $1200 in labs. Or you want to do something a little more DIY and lower cost like the over the counter EverlyWell tests https://www.everlywell.com/, consider getting some real information about how your body is performing, and take care of yourself in the new year. Year End Process for Myself The discussion about longevity weighed heavily in my year-end reflections. I spend this time of year reflecting on the year and revisiting my long term goals and setting some short term ones. My reflections span career, finances, health and fitness. This podcast is partly the result of the process that I'm going to share here. After my last Ironman race 5 1/2 years ago, I knew I needed a break from Ironman but didn't know what I wanted to do next. I was generally ready for some self-exploration and needed to create some direction for myself. I had been reading several books on the topic of setting and achieving goals or taking on life changes. How I Program Myself To Reach My Goals I've put together a formula that works for me. It comes from a collection concepts that have common threads through a number of "how to achieve goals" programs and authors, including Tony Robbins and Mark Divine, author of The Unbeatable Mind. Defining the Mission Statement - There's too much detail to cover this today, but in essence it should be something you produce after doing some self-exploration about your real values and what is truly most important to you. Goals that align to the Mission Statement - I categorize my goals by family, work, hobbies. You may find other categories based on your priorities and values. Envisioning the Goal in the finest detail (the date, the achievement, what it looks like, see yourself) AM What did I dream last night and how does it relate to my Mission and goals? Use the nightstand notebook as a resource. This is a notebook that you keep at your bedside to write down details of dreams (if any) as soon as you wake from them. Write down as many details as you can remember in that short moment. The memory will fade fast in some cases. What Action or Actions (training, call, meeting, research note) will I complete today to move me toward my goal?   Make sure there is time blocked on your calendar to complete the task. If you think you need a fallback time, block that out as well. What is my personal Mission Statement? Note if there are any new words or ideas that occur. Listen to that voice and consider updating your Mission Statement. What decisions did I make today that moved me toward my goals and Mission? Which did not? Be honest and write it down. What Action or Actions (call, meeting, research note) will I complete tomorrow to move me toward my goal? What Challenge do I need to overcome to reach my goal? Have your notebook open to a clean page with a pen or pencil ready to write. This should be easily accessible from your bed, ideally without having to get out of bed. If you wake from a dream overnight, reach for the pad/pencil and write down as many details (people, events, colors, sizes, feelings) quickly before you forget. You will likely not remember in 5 hours, let alone 5 minutes. The nightstand notebook serves another purpose. It is a good way to handle any thoughts you have about tasks or to-dos.         If you write it down, your mind won't have to try and keep track of it or work to store it into memory, enabling the mind to slow down and prepare or resume sleep. PM Journal Daily - this is a cycle of AM and PM journaling that work together   With that backdrop, I use this time of year to revisit my personal mission statement, reflect on the last year and set goals for the new year. I thought I'd share my reflection questions with you in this episode. Am I living according to my Mission Statement? My personal mission statement is to Provide a secure future for my wife and daughters. To follow my dreams. To live a healthy life. To enjoy my endurance journey and help others to enjoy the same. I feel I am doing that for the most part. I have some career and finance goals this year. Am I reaching my full potential as a husband, father, son and brother? Am I reaching my full potential as a friend?       I feel like I don't make as much time for friends as I would like. I feel very guilty if I forget someone's birthday, or forget something that’s personally important to a friend, or a family member's name. ...in my professional career? ...as an Ambassador of our sport …as an athlete? I was fairly directionless in 2019. I didn't have a specific goal. I just signed up for a bunch of races, most of which I had already done. The two that were new for me this year were the AvonFest and Non-Draft Nationals.       I really enjoyed the out of town races, even though there's a lot of logistics that goes along with it.       I definitely miss the challenge of a full Iron-distance race and I feel the tug. It being a first year of the new decade also makes me think my year of 2020 should include a challenge as epic as what I did in 2010, which was IM CDA. …with my personal connections and concern for others …what was I most passionate about? ….what did I struggle with? …what am I passionate about? I'm still passionate about the podcast. The desire to learn. The inspiration it provides is like a drug. The personal connections we get to have and the fun places we get to go. You will hear more in 2020 about where we are taking the show and the partnership with 303Endurance and 303Triathlon with Bill Plock. …as a coach? I am very proud of what the athletes that I worked with accomplished. One had a goal of finishing his first 70.3 and did. The other set out a goal of qualifying for Team USA and Worlds in Edmonton and she did. At the end of the season, my athletes and I sat down and wrote out what worked and what didn't this season. We laid out a list of things we will change for the 2020 season and what the race schedule will be. I learned so much going through that process with them. I also had to put my ego on the shelf and really see the experience from my athlete's perspective. It also helps to be an active athlete. One of the things I will be doing differently this year is having a weekly score card that clearly communicates what areas of training are progressing as planned, ahead of plan or behind plan.   Year End Process for Athletes I've started writing the training plans for my athletes. We started in the Fall by having my athletes identify and sign up for their most important races of the 2020 season. I use an Excel spreadsheet where every column represents a week of the year. The races are identified on the on the top row of the spreadsheet on the corresponding week. Along the leftmost column I have, by discipline, the # of training sessions, the duration of the longest workout, and total volume. This serves as a roadmap for the TrainingPeaks training plan that I'm building for my athletes. This also serves as a way for me to communicate clearly with an athlete what the time commitment is for every week of the year and a benchmark to evaluate training plan adherence. Of course, as a coach I am building in target TSS and CTL scores based on the athlete. If you are curious what this looks like, I've gone ahead and posted a copy of the Athlete Weekly Training Roadmap on the Resources page of https://milehighendurancepodcast.com/resources.       Endurance News: Marathon training - a guide to getting it right So you're training for a marathon. Here, coaches, experts and marathon greats share their tips on how to train like a pro. Run easy on most days On most of your runs –especially the long ones– resist the urge to push; instead, maintain an easy pace, advises running coach Janet Hamilton. You should be running at a pace that allows you to have full-sentence conversations with your running partners. Easy running reduces the impact on your body and staves off fatigue, enabling you to log more miles with less risk of picking up an injury. What’s more, the slow pace actually prepares you better for the distance. When you run a marathon, most of your body’s fuel comes from your aerobic (using oxygen) system – your hardworking muscles need oxygen-rich blood to power each contraction. Your body adapts to easy miles by strengthening your heart, sprouting more capillaries to infuse oxygen into muscles and building more mitochondria, the factories in cells that produce energy. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/marathon/a30256981/marathon-training-guide/     How to Go Beyond the Marathon Distance Lose your fear - If a race is twice the distance of a marathon, it doesn’t mean your training needs to be twice as hard. Many people complete ultras on around the same mileage as a marathon training plan. Although you’ll be on your feet for longer in an ultra, you’ll be moving slower than marathon pace. It’s significantly less intense and less taxing on joints – repetitive pounding on asphalt is brutal compared with softer, changing terrain that better spreads stress around the body. Also, hiking the uphills (and most trail ultras are lumpy) is not only legitimate but a smart strategy, to preserve muscles. You may even start looking forward to hills and the sneaky walking break they allow. Other tips include, Get out more, Get the fueling right, Shift your mindset, Speed it up, Get specific, Learn to juggle, Find your way, and Recover well. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/ultra/a30280579/how-to-run-ultra-marathon/     Video of the Week: Heavy As Lead - From 300 Pounds to the Leadville 100 Heavy as Lead is the story of Jason Cohen, who went from 300lbs to just a short 7 years later found himself running the Leadville Trail 100. Jason, at the age of 27, found himself looking at the number 297 on his bathroom scale. Jason resolved to never let that number touch 300 and has since lost over 120 pounds. His incredible journey has taken him through his battle with obesity and took him to the starting line of the Leadville Trail 100 Race on August 18th, 2018. This film documents Jason's story of losing the weight, becoming an athlete, and running the Leadville 100. Jason was given the idea to tell his story by his good friend, Mark LeBlanc, who realized that Jason's story needed to be told to the world. Mark is co-creating Heavy as Lead with Jason and is the person behind the camera for much of the film. More information and contact information can be found at www.heavyaslead.com Heavy As Lead Documentary - From 300lbs to Running the Leadville 100       Upcoming Interviews: Chris Helwick, a Colorado athlete making a comeback to his professional career as a decathlete (after a 6 year retirement) to make a third and final attempt at qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. Anders Hoffman of Project Iceman will be joining us in the future to talk about the documentary of the first ever, World Record breaking Ironman triathlon in Antarctica in February 2020, the Iceman, to show that limitations are perceptions. The purpose is to inspire other people to dare pursue their biggest dreams. https://www.projecticeman.com/   Last week we had Sarah Crowley and we were talking to her about her hydration/nutrition prep for hot and cooler races. Precision Hydration is her nutrition sponsor and we reached out to them and we are going to have Andy Blow from Precision Hydration join is in a couple of weeks to help give you some tips on how to customize your plan. Closing: Please support our affiliate brands that support the show and help you get faster! See the https://milehighendurancepodcast.com/sponsors page. Be sure to follow us on social media including @303endurance and @milehighendurancepodcast. Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!

Mark Leblanc - business owner, keynote speaker, business coach, consultant, and author, shares his experience of entering his 36th year in business helping small businesses succeed. Find out what Mark Leblanc has learned along the way, the impact of his consultation and coaching efforts, the four books he has authored or co-authored, and founder of the Achievers Circle Business Retreat. Show Notes: How did Mark Leblanc discover “his calling” and how did he know this was it When did Mark know self-employment was a part of “his calling” You have to earn the right to be a professional speaker in service to others What advice does Mark have for guys that struggle to start their entrepreneurial journey Are you "Inspired" by your goal or just interested in it..makes all the difference?  Time and money are the most common excuses for not pursuing your dreams Plant seeds and foundations even by doing something, even a little bit over time, on a consistent basis What was Mark’s initial inspiration to write his books Authors have to be the most excited person about their books - not the even the reader....  Here Mark's pearls of wisdom he gained and transformation he experience gained from his 500-mile long treks No matter how tired you get, you can always take one more step Take time to ponder a critical life principle...Who do you love and who loves you...invest in them first Don’t sacrifice your soul to please others Successful people learn how to say “no”...most of the time Don’t say stuck in the get ready to get ready mode...take action today   3 Key Points:    Inspired tension is the push and pull of a dream when you are not working on that dream.        There is a big distinction between being inspired by your passion and being interested.    Sometimes the longer the runway the greater the flight.   Tweetable Quotes: - “When I found out speaking could be a career, it was game over.” - Mark Leblanc - “I made a vow at 21 that I would do whatever it would take to make it on my own. That I would never go to work for somebody again, and I maintained that.” - Mark Leblanc - “Think of your current position and your future position as parallel tracks not competing tracks.” - Mark Leblanc   Resources Mentioned: HeedYourCalling.com markleblanc.com Books by Mark Leblanc  

Do you know who your people are?  There are people you both need and want in your life and today we are going to define them. Grab your pen + notebook and let's get started.  Reference: Amber McCue » www.ambermccue.com Erika Lyremark » www.dailywhip.com Ursula Mentjes » www.salecoachnow.com Mark LeBlanc » www.linkedin.com/in/speaker-mark-leblanc-csp-89b311 Andrea Gribble » www.socialschool4edu.com MidCurrent Church » https://midcurrentchurch.org/ Carrie Vitt » https://deliciouslyorganic.net/ CONTAGIOUSLY CONFIDENT » http://bit.ly/ContagiouslyConfident   Let's Hang out » http://bit.ly/tena_IG

Mark LeBlanc is a location sound mixer based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. He's worked on TV shows like AMC's Preacher and Fox's Scream Queens and American Horror Story. Mark has also worked on Logan, Fantastic Four and G.I. Joe: Retaliation and American Made with Tom Cruise. He uses a Sound Devices 788T and CL-9, Lectrosonics Venues and recently picked up a Zaxcom Max. He uses a variety of mics including the AKG CK69 shotgun mic, Sennheiser MKH-416 and MKH-70.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we now begin our series about 1998's Thief; as usual, we start by setting the game in its time before diving into a few of its systems and technology requirements. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Cragscleft Prison Podcast breakdown: 0:41 Thief 53:13 Break 53:45 Feedback Issues covered: reflecting on 1998, first-person shooter games of the time, having different first-person goals, differing pacing, original design goals, high enemy lethality and comparative weakness of the protagonist, methodical style of play, punishing the player for an action approach, getting sucked into the demo, niche and sales, sticking to a core fantasy vs going to a more action-oriented design, an aesthetic that spreads to other places, going in a different direction with tone, establishing a different fantasy setting, painterly cutscenes, functional lore, quality of the voice acting, the light meter, audio surface changes, lack of direct information about the AI, technology considerations, dynamic lighting, dynamic and attenuated audio, not cheating for the AI, setting an expectation for future games in the genre (particularly with shooting out lights), doing a job at Lord Bafford's Manor, setting the stage for the game, introducing the mission, having alternate routes, picking pockets, level and experiential density, clear level direction (moving up), dynamic goals, turning off transparency and ledges, following the dotted line or not, movement weight, making trade-offs of immediacy vs groundedness, weapon roles, progression and weapon roles working against one another, extending character through weapon choices, making more interesting choices from your systems (including weapons). Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Starcraft, Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Unreal, Rainbox Six, Final Fantasy Tactics, Resident Evil 2, Tomb Raider 3, Rogue Squadron, Grim Fandango, Half-Life, Baldur's Gate, Spyro the Dragon, Battlezone, Descent: Freespace, Star Wars: Starfighter, Kotaku Splitscreen, Half-Life 2, Fallout 2, Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow, Quake, Epic Games, id Software, Duke Nukem, Heretic, Eidos Interactive, Die by the Sword, Treyarch, Trespasser, Daron Stinnett, System Shock 2, Looking Glass, Hitman, Splinter Cell, Dishonored, Ultima Underworld, Origin, Flight Unlimited, System Shock, Terra Nova, Strike Force Alpha Centauri, Ken Levine, Doug Church, Harvey Smith, Randy Smith, Mark LeBlanc, Warren Spector, Paul Neurath, Underworld Ascendant, Emil Pagliarulo, Lulu LaMer, Crystal Dynamics, Tim Stellmach, Terry and Eric Brosius, Greg LoPiccolo, Stephen Russell, Arx Fatalis, Arkane Studios, Raf Colantonio, Gothic Chocobo, Mark Brown, Morrowind, Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Batman, Dead Space, Rômulo Santos, Monster Hunter (series), Andrew from Cincinnati, Deus Ex, Doom, Halo, Uncharted, Star Wars: Republic Commando. Next time: Through The Sword Links: Is the reboot of Lara Croft more feminist? 10 things (women were doing in Video games in the) 1990's (2:45-4:28) Why Nathan Drake doesn't need a compass. Following the little dotted line @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

"Most interesting mentor in the world." That's how I'd describe Mark LeBlanc, a friend, mentor and this week's podcast guest. This interview is chock-full of practical ways to grow your business while at the same time addressing deeper considerations, like "is your 'fun-meter' on max?" “Done is better than perfect.” – Mark LeBlanc Learn more about this episode of Awaken Your Inner Superstar at http://blog.superstaractivator.com/39

Today we have the very cool, very incredible Mark Le Blanc with us! He is widely considered a Business Development expert and he is based out of Minneapolis. Mark has an Achiever Circle Retreat, for independent professionals who really want to create an extreme area of focus and as a result of that, put more money in their pockets as a business owner.   Mark realized very early on in his life that he was unemployable, so he made a decision to do whatever it would take, to make it on his own. Looking back, he sees that he was so in love with his potential, that he never really stopped to figure out what he was doing or to lay down a foundation for that potential to emerge. This is something that he sees a lot with the clients that he works with, so today, he talks about how he sees that showing up with his clients and he explains how supports them through it. He also discusses what it means to have really meaningful conversations with prospective clients, the type of conversation that will result not only in making a sale but in making a second (or subsequent) sale(s).    Mark has written three books- Growing Your Business, Never Be The Same and Build Your Consulting Practice and recently, he went on his third five hundred mile walk across Spain.   Listen in today, to find out more about Mark and to get his awesome, tried and tested strategies, to really grow your business.   Show highlights:   •Mark describes the limiting beliefs that he had about sales and selling, when he launched his first business. •Mark describes his beliefs about himself, as a salesperson, when he first started out. •How Mark supports the clients that he works with. •What it means for Mark, to have a 'meaningful' conversation with a prospect. •Mark explains why, once he had made the transition and became his own product, he actually found it more difficult to sell. •Mark talks about the crystal clear defining moment in 1993, after starting his own business, when a transformation occurred with him and he shifted from selling himself, as a Consultant, Speaker or Business Consultant, to positioning himself by the outcomes of his work. His primary outcome is growing your business. •What Mark refers to as 'Positioning yourself by your titles or services'. •The separation that Mark managed to make , between who he was and what he had to offer and the growth that he experienced in his business, as a result. •The two main strategies that Mark used when he first doubled his sales. •The three seeds that Mark suggests that you plant every day, to stay top of mind with your clients.  (His Storm Starter Strategy) •Marks best advice about Networking. •Marks top strategies for Business Development. (His Showcase Strategy and his Storm Starter Strategy) •Mark's moment of pain, during his first walk of the Camino De Santiago.   To get your free e-copy of Mark's book,  Growing Your Business, just send an email to his assistant, Kylie: kylie@growingyourbusiness.com    You can also contact Kylie to get the upcoming dates for Mark's Achiever Circle Retreats.   Links:   Mark's email: mark@growingyourbusiness.com      You can order a copy of Mark's new book, Build Your Consulting Practice, from www.amazon.com  The book is co-authored by Mark's business partner, Henry DeVries.  

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are beginning a series of episodes about 1994's X-COM: UFO Defense. This week, we set the game in its historical context and discuss the beginning of the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up through first ground mission Podcast breakdown: 0:38       X-Com Segment 1:06:28  Break 1:06:51  Feedback segment Issues covered: business model of early Wizardry, DOS Box, perils of the back catalog, 1994 in games, turn-based games history, war gaming, X-Com as shorthand and a genre definer, tutorial in the manual, pure sim, "Suit up son, you're going to Mars," tracking your first UFO, placing your first base, destroying your base and losing the money, simulation depth, usability issues, getting outrun by UFOs, don't shoot it down over water, placing your base in Australia, air combat, time units as primary resource, line of sight, random number generation and probability, managing player expectations, switching from math to psychology, how we've used probability over time in design, nailbiting moments when the RNG goes your way, end of month ratings, Tim loses, high skill and exploration. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Wizardry, The Witcher (series), Mass Effect, Ultima, Bard's Tale, Night Dive Studios, Meridian 59, No One Loves Forever, Julian Gollop, Super Metroid, TIE Fighter, Warcraft, Final Fantasy VI, Doom ][, Earthbound, Earthworm Jim, System Shock, Heretic, Megaman X2, Jazz Jackrabbit, Master of Magic, Beneath a Steel Sky, Burn Cycle, Richard LeMarchand, Fallout, D&D, Avalon Hill, Axis & Allies, Chris Crawford, Eastern Front, TankTics, Koei, SSI, Panzer Strike, Laser Squad, Mario vs Rabbids, Firaxis Games, Jake Solomon, Klei, Invisible Inc, Oxygen Not Required, LucasArts, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, Chess, Nintendo, Famicom Wars, Gameboy Wars, Advance Wars, Jagged Alliance, Panzer Generals, Final Fantasy Tactics, Castlevania, Chainmail, Gary Gygax, Star Trek, Morgan Gray, Ron Gilbert, Ken Shoemake, Civ II, Dunkirk, Sid Meier, Oblivion, Skyrim, Ross Hadden, Super Mario (series: World/Sunshine/64/Galaxy), Ben Zaugg, Jason Schreier, SNES Classic, Redwunder, Idle Thumbs, Important If True, ChrisLaBs, scootermm, Micus_Ficus, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ausy19, Kotaku Splitscreen, Spirit Tracks, Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds. BrettYK: 5 TimYK: 60 Next time: A few hours more Correction: I believe the "Suit up, son, you're going to Mars" quote actually came from a Mark LeBlanc talk. DGC regrets the error. @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Are you looking for powerful ways to grow your business as a savvy author? Listen and learn from small business development expert, Mark LeBlanc, as he shares proven strategies to build and grow a profitable small author business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark LeBlanc has delivered over 1,000 presentations, coached over 1,000 business owners, and is the author of “Growing Your Business and Never Be the Same.” His book was inspired by walking the 500 mile, Camino de Santiago trek across Spain. In fact, he walked it twice! Mark also started a foundation to support young entrepreneurs and they recently awarded their 8th grant of $3,000. The proceeds from Mark’s books are used to fund the grants. Mark has also conducted over 100 weekend business retreats called the “Achievers Circle” -- which has now become the ultimate, anti-boot camp experience. What you'll learn about in this episode Mark's background Why extreme focus is everything Mark's AM/PM questions he uses to keep himself on track Why Mark's alarm goes off at 5 AM every day The story of when Mark fell flat on his face when starting a new business How to be a great listener Why you can't ever leave someone waiting Why you need to get good at asking for help Why you must have a mastermind group Why you need to get a handle on your numbers How best to connect with Mark: Email: mark@growingyourbusiness.com Phone: (800)690-0810

  The greatest teachers in life are rarely the ones with great advice. They are remarkable role models who consistently show the way, while asking the kind of questions that stop us in our tracks. Their questions infect us with the kind of curiosity that leads us in the direction of our own answers.   You know the kind of person I’m talking about. Their question pierces through our internal chatter and commands the truth we’ve been searching for.   In November of 2016, I witnessed a teacher so committed to his craft that he not only showed the way, but provoked questions in me in a way that has changed me forever.   On day two of a three-day business retreat, Mark LeBlanc dropped to his knees in front of fifteen highly ambitious business owners. With his hands clasped in prayer, he opted to forgo asking us to begin tracking specific business numbers every day, and he full out begged.   Mark is a remarkably successful businessman, speaker and business coach. He doesn’t need to beg anyone to buy from him. In fact, he gives away valuable content and turns away business until he sees a perfect fit, both energetically and practically.   Yet—he stood on that stage, dropped to his knees and sincerely begged us to take action immediately and consistently, citing specific success stories from those who followed his advice. But I’d heard many business coaches recite such facts, and make similar suggestions. So, what made Mark different?   He got down on his knees and begged us. Sincerely begged us.    He wasn’t begging to get something from us. He was begging because he’s desperately committed to our long-term success. Of course, he also knows our success is his success.   His passion and commitment to learning and sharing was infectious and instructive. It conjured up in me a set of questions that has radically altered my focus for 2017.   Here are the top 5 Questions To Add Impact to Your Life in 2017:   What result is worthy of my begging?   What result do I believe so strongly in that I would literally drop to my knees with sincere commitment of creating? This question is worth sitting with for a few days, even weeks.   When I’m not concerned with money, status, achievement or survival, what do I most enjoy doing?   What nags at me, begs for my attention and feeds my curiosity in a way that I cannot seem to shake? (Special note: Some of us have ignored our curiosity so long that it has gone dormant. The great news is it’s still there… it simply needs a little coaxing, which question 3 addresses.)   What topic(s) most intrigues me? How much time do I devote to feeding my curiosity?   Without realizing it, we often put our curiosities to the side and force ourselves to focus (as best we can) on doing the work we should and abandon the work that feeds our soul.   Fortunately, we can do both—feed our families and our curiosity. In fact, Elizabeth Gilbert wrote an exceptional book about this very topic called Big Magic.   Who do I most enjoy sharing time with?   By creating an ever-expanding list of people we enjoy sharing time with, we naturally begin looking for ways to spend more time with them. The more time we spend with them, the less time we have for those we don’t.    Who can I focus on helping to reach their goals/dreams?   It’s entirely too easy to become obsessed with and exhausted by our own success. By balancing our goals with giving, we release the pressure while increasing our impact. The key here is to focus on helping them, rather than serving our unconscious agenda. True service is serene regardless of outcome.   Speaking of giving—I would love to hear about your goals and dreams. If I can play even a small part in making them a reality, I would be honored.   Here’s to your greatness,   Misti Burmeister   P.S. A very special “Thank you” goes to Mark LeBlanc for leading the way to greatness.    

Past NSA President Mark Leblanc discusses his Private Achievers Circle offering for this year's Cigar PEG Auction. You can read a detailed description here.   What is Cigar PEG? It's a 501(c)3 charity founded by Ed Rigsbee dedicated to making a difference by employing "Philanthropy through Fun." Each week Ed will be assigning Craig with a mission. Maybe it's to introduce you to some of the Cigar PEG staff or some of our High Roller contributors. Maybe it's one of our many donors who support us year after year; maybe it's just for fun! But just like Cigar PEG itself, we hope you have fun and learn something new. Join the Facebook and the LinkedIn groups as well as subscribing to iTunes to make sure you don't miss an episode.

Mark LeBlanc, of Small Business Success, has special expertise on the core issues that business owners and professionals face on a daily basis. His flagship presentation and book, Growing Your Business! are ideal on addressing how to sell more products and services. Attendees walk away feeling more focused, able to attract more prospects, stimulate more […]

Mark LeBlanc, of Small Business Success, has special expertise on the core issues that business owners and professionals face on a daily basis. His flagship presentation and book, Growing Your Business! are ideal on addressing how to sell more products and services. Attendees walk away feeling more focused, able to attract more prospects, stimulate more referrals, and ultimately, craft a plan for generating more business. Mr. LeBlanc has been on his own virtually his entire adult life, owned several businesses, and now speaks and writes on the street-smart strategies for achieving in times of challenge and change. He is uniquely qualified to address audiences of 5 to 50 to 500, and more. He can deliver an inspirational can-do keynote, a content-rich general session, hands-on workshop, and/or a multi-day program.

Marc Leblanc is the author of Growing Your Business and a past president of the National Speakers Association. With 200+ speaking engagements each year, master publicity strategist and consultant, and bestselling author, Jill Lublin, consistently wows audiences worldwide with her entertaining and interactive keynotes, seminars, and training programs on publicity, networking, and influence marketing. Jill […]

Marc Leblanc is the author of Growing Your Business and a past president of the National Speakers Association. With 200+ speaking engagements each year, master publicity strategist and consultant, and bestselling author, Jill Lublin, consistently wows audiences worldwide with her entertaining and interactive keynotes, seminars, and training programs on publicity, networking, and influence marketing. Jill has shared her powerful networking and publicity strategies on the stages of Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Loral Langemeier, Richard Simmons, and many others. Additionally, thousands of people have attended her popular “Crash Course in Publicity”, which she teaches live several times a month at locations around the U.S. and Canada, as well as a live online webinar. Her popular home study system is used by clients worldwide who are ready to create greater success and revenues for themselves and their companies.

Mark LeBlanc is the author of Growing Your Business and Never Be the Same. He is also a past President of the National Speakers Association and his new book When YOU Are the Business will be available early next year.  He speaks and writes on the core issues that small business owners and independent professionals face every single day and is speaking in Kansas City in a few weeks. He joins host Kelly Scanlon this week on Smart Companies Radio. Mark will walk you through the biggest mistake of his career, share with you the one marketing tool that will change the course of your career and the ultimate strategy for generating more business.  To hear more Smart Companies Radio, Please visit our archives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark joins us to talk about how to structure your business and learn to focus on what you love - helping your patients. He also explains how to properly market yourself as well as how to take what you are already doing and improve on it.  You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/1Jhi6Cw

Mark LeBlanc, President of Small Business Success and author of Growing Your Business! And Never Be The Same joins me today. He shares his story of growing as an entrepreneur, like you and I, and of the practical tips he uses as he coaches and consults small business owners who want to grow their business. Mark graciously has shared an ebook copy of Growing Your Own Business! with Voice For Fitness Professionals listeners. You can reach Mark for the book or for more information about how to grow your business at www.smallbusinesssuccess.com or www.Markleblanc.com

Hints and Tips for media appearances and public speaking. This week; Do you want to be interviewed?; Mark LeBlanc; No Fizz at the BBC; There's too many of Them; Showing Hostility; How to Lose Customers and Annoy People; An Interview with one of Germany's Funniest Speakers, Otmar Kastner